The recent rise in popularity of cargo pants came as a surprise to most fashion editors. Championed by celebrities who made a very compelling case for the style—including Rihanna, Emily Ratajkowski and Bella Hadid—we started to perceive this trouser style as less clueless dad and more cool girl. A few years in and the ergonomic trousers have entirely shaken off their former reputation, attracting a swarm of cargo-converts to the check-out button.
However, the abundance of pockets and casual, draped shape does make styling them a bit difficult. To help, we’ve tried wearing cargos with just about every type of shoe you can imagine, and I’ve whittled it down the styles that work the best.
