How to Style Camo Pants as a Grown Woman
It seems every season, I have a member of the Wardrobe Oxygen community reach out asking how to style camo pants. Are camo pants in style? Is it disrespectful to wear camo if you're not in the military? How to make camo pants look chic? I figured it was time to write an article about styling camouflage clothing, most specifically styling camouflage pants in a way that is tasteful and stylish for us grown women.
How to Style Camo Pants
Are Camo Pants In Style?
Camo pants and any clothing with a camouflage print seem to go in and out of fashion, but it never is totally out of style or passé. The key is how you style camo pants: you want to keep in mind the current trends of silhouette, shape, and combinations of colors and prints.
For example, in the 2000s, I wore camo pants with a hot pink tube top and stacked flip-flops. This was a go-to outfit for beach bars and concerts. In the 2010s, I styled camo pants with a blazer, a Breton striped shirt, and pointed-toe pumps. I can even recall styling a camo jacket with a sequined skirt and sparkly statement necklace (and pumps… always the pumps!).
It's now 2024, and camo is back in fashion thanks to the popularity of street style, thrifting, vintage fashion, and the resurgence of 90s and Y2K fashion. Camo pants have been seen on celebrities and fashionistas this year, and I expect this trend to continue into 2025.
Is it Respectful to Wear Camo as a Civilian?
I know many have thoughts about non-military folks wearing camouflage. The opinions are varied, and it's important to know some so you can determine if you will feel comfortable wearing camo, especially as a grown woman.
Camo can feel a bit of militia, and especially with the political climate right now in the U.S., one may choose not to wear camouflage for appearing to support supremacy or insurrections. Personally, I believe it's all about context. If you're rocking camo pants with combat boots, tactical gear, and a red baseball cap, one could likely assume your political stance. However, styling fashion pants in a camo pattern with color, civilian silhouettes, and mixing aesthetics will make it clear you're not dressing to storm the Capitol.
Ask a veteran, and you will get mixed opinions on wearing camo as a civilian. Some find it incredibly disrespectful, others find it a compliment. However, all agree you should never wear actual U.S. military uniforms, especially with insignia still attached.
It is also important to know that it is illegal to wear or own camouflage clothing in certain countries around the globe. This Wikipedia entry shares which countries prohibit wearing camouflage. As a rule, I do not recommend wearing camouflage when traveling internationally. Even if they are your favorite comfortable travel pants for women, I wouldn't wear them for travel, regardless of your country of destination.
That being said, camouflage print fashion continues to be popular, and if not worn in a military manner, it can be fun and fashionable. I also believe in reclaiming that which has been co-opted by hate groups. Below I will share some sample outfits of how to style camo pants in ways that will look great on us women who are over 40 and not be disrespectful or hateful.
How To Wear Camo Pants When You're Over 40
Below I share seven different ways to style camouflage pants in a sophisticated, stylish, and contemporary manner. I hope these looks inspire you and show you that camouflage pants can be chic, versatile, and very wearable.
Style Camo Pants with Elevated Wardrobe Classics
A key way to make almost anything stylish nowadays is by using juxtaposition in your outfit. You will see street style icons, stylish celebrities, and fashion insiders constantly mixing high with low, dressy with casual, and when it comes to camouflage pants, styling them with the most unexpected pieces.
As seen in the photo above from a street style photographer, this stylish woman paired very classic camo cargo pants with sleek brown leather boots, a celadon knit top with a Kelly green sweater tied around the shoulders, and a classic Gucci handbag with bamboo handle. She finished the look with a sparkly necklace. Everything reads classic, elegant, traditional but the juxtaposition of the camo pants is what really makes the look modern and stylish.
green sweater | chartreuse sweater | pants | necklace | bag | boots
Pair camo pants with a cashmere twinset and pearls, a feminine blouse and horse-bit loafers, a boucle Chanel-inspired blazer, and a chain-strap handbag. You may find a pair of thrifted or Army surplus camo pants may be just the thing to jazz up your existing closet of elevated basics!
Leopard is a Neutral… And So Is Camo
Style experts have always been fans of leopard and cheetah prints because they work as neutral patterns, seeming to coordinate with most any color and many other patterns. Camouflage was created to help soldiers blend into their surroundings, just like skin prints do for animals. You can totally use camo print in the same manner as leopard print.
As seen here by my stylish friend Susan at the blog une femme d’un certain âge, trim camo pants are worn as a subtle neutral with a rust-colored long cardigan and camel-colored handbag. The camo pants add depth and style that wouldn't be achieved with jeans or solid-colored twill pants.
sweater | t-shirt | bag | sunglasses | lipstick | pants | shoes
The concept of Susan's look shows how to style camo pants in a casual manner without it looking sloppy. Pairing camo with crisp saturated colors, items in good condition, and elevated accessories make camo look purposeful and contemporary.
Style Camo Pants With Colorful Casual Separates
Camo pants are a street style staple. The way to keep it looking cool on us grown women is to take a nod from street style but add a sophisticated a colorful spin on it. While many wear camo with denim, black, white, and chunky sneakers, choosing colorful and elevated casual separates feels grown-up and not at all militant.
As seen with this person captured by a street style photographer, classic camo pants are paired with on-trend athletic sneakers, a bright pink designer sweatshirt, and a shiny blue puffer coat. The look is relaxed, comfortable, yet totally chic.
jacket | hoodie | insulated water bottle | backpack (ALISON10 for 10% off) | sunglasses | pants | sneakers
Switch out your field jacket or denim jacket for a puffer, track jacket, or leather jacket with color and a bit of shine. You don't need a hot pink Balenciaga sweatshirt, but if you choose a sweatshirt or sweater that is richly pigmented and not oversized, the look will be elevated and look at home on a grown-ass woman.
Pattern Mixing with Camo Pants
As mentioned above, camo is a neutral pattern like leopard. And the key to pattern mixing with both prints is to have the other print a different size and type of pattern. Camo is usually a large print and a bit muted; here this person balanced the camo with a smaller gingham print. While camo has soft edges, gingham has very straight lines.
Note that no other prints are used; the shoes, blazer, tie, and pocket square are all solid. No bold, attention-getting accessories to compete with the already bold pattern mixing. And this person's use of solids grounds these two prints and makes the outfit chic and cohesive.
glasses | shirt | blazer | belt | pants | shoes
Straight graphic prints like stripes, windowpane plaid, and gingham are great choices when pattern mixing with camo. Just be sure to ground the prints with plenty of solid colors and more subtle of accessories.
Style Camo Pants by Combining Tough and Soft
Again, an example of juxtaposition in fashion. Camo pants are associated with the military, hunting, strength, and action. It's incredibly chic to counteract that toughness with softness and femininity.
As seen on this person captured by a street style photographer, fashionable camo pants made from a lighter-weight fabric with elevated details like ruched side seams are paired with heels, breezy layers in shades of pale pink and blush, a feminine clutch purse with a gold chain strap, and gold accessories. The sleek low ponytail is efficient and about business, tying together the combo of soft and strong.
shirt | tank | sweater | sunglasses | necklace | bag | pants | shoes
With so much volume, the delicate shoes and purse and the sleek hair ground the look. The look would feel casual and militaristic if those layers were white, denim, olive, or black. And while the sleeves are casually rolled and the sweater thrown over the shoulders, all layers are fresh, ironed or steamed, and in tiptop condition to keep the outfit elevated.
Switch Up the Silhouette
If you search how to style camo pants, what will come up are tons of looks from the 2010's of women in skinny or tapered ankle-length camo pants styled with denim jackets or slouchy off-the shoulder sweaters. Camo pants this decade are straight to wide leg, with a high to midrise, and they are more likely to replicate (or actually be) Army surplus cargo pocket fatigues. How to style wide leg pants with stiffer fabric is with a trimmer silhouette on top.
As you see in the photo above by one of my favorite street style photographers, Karya Schanilec, the full-leg camo pants are tempered by a fitted t-shirt and slicked-back hair. While the person is wearing a full trench over the look, keeping the jacket open shows the balance of trim and full. Boots with an extended heel and a structured bag temper volume but look proportional.
coat | bag | boots | necklace | sweater | pants
This can also be achieved with a trim-fitting sweater or knit top tucked into camo pants, choosing a belly-skimming top, or cinching a top or jacket with a substantial belt. The key is to show a waistline. If the pant fabric is stiff, stick to more substantial of shoes and a more structured bag. The softer the fabric, the more delicate you can get with your footwear and purses.
Keep it Simple, Sweetheart
Camouflage print is such a statement, to have it be an everyday look it's best to keep the rest of the look simple and classic. Manage volume with belts and tucked in tops, balance streamlined shoes with a trimmer silhouette or lighter fabric of pant, and stiffer fabrics with a full length pant and more substantial of shoe.
Here, my stylish friend Beth from Style at a Certain Age nails a simple yet chic look with camo pants. Pairing a straight-leg pair cuffed to ankle length with Adidas shelltoes and a black turtleneck sweater, this is a look that can be chic now and years from now. Choosing to partial tuck and show a belt creates shape as well as interest to the look.
sweater | pants | sneakers | bag | earrings | lipstick | belt
Tips for Shopping for Camo Pants
Trends have changed, and just as skinny jeans have fell out of favor, so have many of the camo pants we wore in previous decades. A few tips for shopping for camo pants:
- Thrift First. Camouflage pants have been in and out of style for decades; there is a good chance you'll find the silhouette you desire for less at your local thrift or resale shop, or online resale sites.
- Shop the Mens Department. Since the fit now is looser, straighter, and of stiffer fabric, it's a more unisex look. Shop the men's department or your local Army surplus shop, and then take to a tailor to shape to your curves. This is also a great hack to cinch the waist of jeans and pants at home. (YouTube)
- Go Long. Consider a full-length style of camo pant so it can stay relevant and stylish in your closet longer. You can cuff them, put in a deep hem when trends go short, and have fabric to bring them long again, or even tuck the hem into boots for a different silhouette.
- Keep it Classic. Drawstrings, paper bag waists, atypical colors, cropped styles, and unusual fabrics (nylon, silk, jersey) are less likely to remain in style and less versatile too. Stick with a straight to wide leg, high- to midrise waist, and classic button and fly closure.
Shop Camo Pants
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I love this article! Such informative thoughts on the pros and cons, as well as really cute fashion ideas. Once again, your blog informs and inspires me! Thank you!
I find the discourse in the comments utterly fascinating. How do those who are against civilians wearing camouflage printed apparel feel about coats with epaulets and gold buttons? Mariner sweaters? Combat boots? Cargo pants? Trench coats? Bomber jackets? Such are fashionable looks inspired by the military yet I do not experience anyone up in arms regarding these details. Americans place importance on the most ridiculous things.
I agree with Kate. I wore fatigues and, later, BDU’s in a camo pattern during my 20 years in the Army Nurse Corps. I was never in combat so I felt that wearing my Battle Dress Uniform in the hospital was somewhat disrespectful to those who were or had been in combat, even though it was the uniform of the day and I had to wear it. Camo is just a pattern designed to help conceal a person or an object by causing it to blend in to its environment. It’s not inherently stylish so my feeling is that if you’re wearing it on the street, you’re doing it to make a statement in some way about the military. And, frankly, there isn’t one look in this article that’s attractive so why bother?
I appreciate this discourse, but there’s no need to be nasty about my article. That’s not stylish at all.
I’m a veteran and wore camo for a living. I didn’t hate people wearing it as fashion, and had a few pairs of older, pure cotton camo pants I saved for casual wear after retiring. However, this sentence sums up my current stance:
>>Camo can feel a bit of militia, and especially with the political climate right now in the U.S., one may choose not to wear camouflage for appearing to support supremacy or insurrections.
I love this. I grew up an angsty grunge military brat and appreciate the fashion permits me to go back and redo parts of my past. Switching out the Doc Martens for my Adidas Superstar sneakers!
As a teen in the 90s my mom told me it was disrespectful to the military and I’ve come to agree with that. Except for Beth, these looks look extremely try-hard and remind me of J.Lo’s stiletto Timbs that were perceived as mocking the working class. There are better ways to support the military than acting like their required uniform is something for you to appropriate. Plain green or khaki cargo pants would give a similar high/low effect if that’s desired, without the problematic connotations.
It was interesting to learn that some countries ban the wearing of camo; I didn’t know that. It goes to show that clothing is never “just” personal. In the US we only have our taste and respect to guide us.
My husband served in the Navy for 20 years, as did one brother in law, and my father in law. The other brother in law and my husband’s grandfather each served 20 years in the Army; three of our nephews are soldiers right now. And our son in law served in the Navy. So when I say that not a single one of those cares even the tiniest bit of a civilian wears camo pants, trust that I know what I’m talking about. If anything they’re likely to laugh and say that they didn’t realize they were such fashion trendsetters! We have SO MUCH bigger problems to worry about as a military community than what American women are wearing, so let’s not get distracted. 🙂
Fully agree, my husband and father and uncle were in the Navy, I have several relatives who were in the Army, and close friends who are or were in all branches of the military and none of them care whether folks wear camo. And many of them wear street clothes with camo prints (local favorite Under Armour carries a lot of sweats and tees in camo print).