Daniel Drezner Photo: Alonso Nichols

Precious Cargo

Daniel Drezner was busy blogging and tweeting about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton over the summer, as befits a Fletcher professor of international politics. But when a Wall Street Journal article suggested that men should ditch their cargo shorts for more fashionable attire, Drezner quickly came to the defense of the comfy clothes with the big pockets.

“I don’t want to sound like an extremist, but cargo shorts are an essential part of a man’s summer wardrobe,” he wrote in his blog for the Washington Post, “and this should be enshrined in the Constitution.”

Like other fans, Drezner praised the shorts’ comfort and their namesake pockets, but he also noted their place in history. Cargo pants were designed in the Thirties for British military men, who used the large external pockets to hold field bandages and maps. During World War II, the practicality of the garb won favor with other Allies, and U.S. paratroopers reportedly filled their pockets with K rations and extra ammunition. “Any article of clothing that helped defeat Hitler is an article of clothing that should never go out of style,” Drezner wrote.

What next, a defense of camouflage? Nope. Drezner has returned to writing about the presidential race—wearing his cargo shorts, of course.