What to Wear With Cargo Pants & Shorts

Do the words "style" and "cargo" even belong in the same sentence? Cargo pants, like so many fashion trends, have gone from functionally fashionable in the '90s to out-of-fashion not long thereafter to on-trend for the 2020s. 

What makes today's cargo pants and cargo shorts so dope? Cargo shorts and cargo pants are staples in today's streetwear aesthetic, especially when they feature stacked hems, urban graphics, and distressed details. Today's cargo pants have oversized pockets with high quality closures such as zippers, snaps, and buttons. They're practical for whatever you need to carry.  

We'll explain how to style cargos, including what shirts go with cargo pants and what shoes to wear with streetwear cargo pants and shorts. Plus, we'll include photos for your outfit inspo with links to where you can buy these looks.

When styling men's cargo pants outfits, you can keep it as simple or as layered as you want. 

Streetwear Style Men’s Cargo Pants 

If you're a bit of a minimalist, a simple T-shirt with cargo pants and white kicks is a no-brainer. He’s vibing with mixed a dark gray tee with khaki gray cargo pants with stacked legs. His coordinating bucket hat and simple statement chain tie the minimalist look together. The gray-on-gray cargo pants 'fit works for casual wear to work, dinner out or date night.

If you're into the baggy streetwear vibe, take the same look — a fitted plain tee and cargo shorts or pants — but switch up one fitted piece for an oversized piece. Baggy cargo pants and a fitted tee or an oversized tee with fitted cargos. The balance fitted with baggy creates a put-together look that won't appear sloppy, especially if you wear the right accessories.

Varsity Style Cargo Pants Outfit 

This dude's layers are perfect. Stacked cargo jeans, white paint splatter tee, and a varsity jacket from the RSO Varsity Collection. Why this look works well is all about the layers. The southbill trucker cap and black shades give this guy confidence in his varsity letter jacket. Anyone gonna tell him he can't wear pink? Nah. Don't think so.  

Athleisure Cargo Pants Outfit

The look also features another jacket from the Men's varsity collection, this time in classic red. He’s wearing super-stacked brown cargo pants, a graphic tee from our band collection, and a red jacket with skulls and logos. He could even add a French tuck in the front for an even more polished, put-together style.

Cargo Shorts Outfit Idea

What do you wear with cargo shorts? Short-sleeve graphic tees, including our signature rock-band and vintage style band T-shirts, go especially well with RSO’s Men's cargo shorts. We like this guy’s fitted look with the baggy cargo pants and fresh white kicks. We might have ditched the socks, but sometimes comfort trumps fashion.  

3 More Outfit Ideas with Cargo

First up, we have khaki cargo pants in a straight-leg fit paired with a baggy brown racing-themed graphic T-shirt and black-and-orange high tops. 

Next up, with a tip of the hat to the combat-wear aesthetic, the black-on-black aesthetic, and maybe even a little gorp-core, this badass look starts with a sleeveless zip-front hoodie, black straight-leg cargo jeans, and is finished with black combat-style boots. If you don’t want to go completely shirtless, a plain black tee completes the #blackonblack look; alternatively, a plain white tee can’t go wrong. 

Last, it’s RSO’s version of the cult classic three-wolf howling shirt. Ours has five wolves, because five is better than three. We like the look with camouflage cargo jeans or shorts and either sandal slides or white kicks.