Ill-Fitting Clothes and Concealed Carry

[vicious]

Carrying back in college it was go completely gray man or risk expulsion. As a result I had to really learn how to optimize concealing my handgun. One thing I learned is that ill-fitting clothes are as detrimental to concealment as a bad belt and holster. Selecting jeans with the proper rise and shirts to fit my body type really made all the difference. I meticulously crafted my style right down to shoe selection to make sure I was always well-dressed and completely invisible among my peers. I didn't make any compromises either in weapon selection or mode of carry. I was carrying a Glock 19 strongside IWB and spare mags on my support side every single day and no one was the wiser.

There are a lot of discussions on this board about belt and holster selection, but just about none regarding clothing selection. I wanted to start a discussion where people who are truly committed to going unnoticed can discuss selecting clothing for their body types, fashion, etc, specifically from the angle of concealing a firearm and going gray.

Please discuss. I'll add some more of my insights on this topic once this thread gets going.

[soberbyker]

I'm a T-shirt and jeans guy, always have been. I also always CC. I've got a Blade Tech Ultimate concealment holster (IWB) that works well for me. I buy my shirts one size larger than I need, I also opt for the "tall" selection when available for added length. Other than the tell tale belt clip, no one is the wiser, although I was "made" once just after getting out of my car and going into a grocery store with out re-bunching my shirt, as it were.

Here's a few shots, a couple of my Kahr CW9 and a couple of my Ruger SP101.










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[Ten*K]

Not a problem for me, I wear a ghillie suit 24/7.


But seriously, if I am CC, I wear pants or shorts at the actual waist with a sturdy belt, and a comfortable shirt, usually dark or with some stripe pattern to break up outlines.

[vicious]

dark or with some stripe pattern to break up outlines.

Protip.^^^ some patterns work better for certain builds as well.

SB, t shirts were never discreet enough for my situation so I rarely wore them then and still really don't, though they can be very low profile in some environments. I need to shed some pounds before the summer for just that reason (and a few others). The only way I ever got a t shirt lay right around my shoulders and still conceal around my hips was to shrink my waistline. Obviously, shrinking ones waistline will make concealing in anything easier, but that's a different topic.

[soberbyker]

Protip.^^^ some patterns work better for certain builds as well.

SB, t shirts were never discreet enough for my situation so I rarely wore them then and still really don't, though they can be very low profile in some environments. I need to shed some pounds before the summer for just that reason (and a few others). The only way I ever got a t shirt lay right around my shoulders and still conceal around my hips was to shrink my waistline. Obviously, shrinking ones waistline will make concealing in anything easier, but that's a different topic.

FWIW, I'm no skinny mini, even a blind man could tell that, hell, I'm fat, but it works good for me, so while losing some weight would be a good thing, it's not necessary for good t-shirt concealment. I'm not a suit and tie guy, nor do I like shirts with collars and I never wear a shirt un-tucked. I've been to OC meet and greets where some folks didn't think I was carrying at all, since I don't do the OC thing.

You said:

I wanted to start a discussion where people who are truly committed to going unnoticed can discuss selecting clothing for their body types, fashion, etc, specifically from the angle of concealing a firearm and going gray.

And I offered what works for me, YMMV.

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[mollymayhem82]

Guys have it easier than women do in this department, at least this woman. It's damn near impossible for me to still dress like a woman and conceal a gun. If I wear my work clothes, which is usually a loose tee shirt, baggy jeans, and sometimes a lab coat, I could get away with it. But I like to look like a woman, at least sometimes. Woman are shaped differently than men, obviously, so what works for guys won't always work for girls.

The only way I can conceal comfortably, conceal well, and still get to wear my nicer clothing is to carry behind my back, tucked into my jeans. I can carry like that all day, and not worry about it coming loose, falling down, or having it pop out from under my shirt every 5 seconds.

[vicious]

I can understand how it would be much harder to conceal in women's fashions. Are there any advantages though? Do you think you more or less get the same level of scrutiny? Women are certainly in the minority here but I can imagine reasons for it to go either way. I'd like to get your opinion since, personally, I've never been a woman and dont know many that carry regularly.

[mollymayhem82]

I can understand how it would be much harder to conceal in women's fashions. Are there any advantages though? Do you think you get the same level of scrutiny? Women are certainly in the minority here but I can imagine reasons for it to go either way. I'd like to get your opinion since, personally, I've never been a woman and dont know many that carry regularly.

I don't think the average person looking at me on the street would think I was carrying; I don't dress like a 'Tactical Tim', I don't wear NRA shirts, and I don't do anything that screams "I HAVE A GUN". Some of my family and friends know I carry a gun, others just know that I own one, some have no clue. My boyfriend encourages me to carry all the time, and I probably should, but I don't always.

Advantages? I guess other than not being scrutinized, I get free drinks when I go out. As far as actually carrying, there aren't many. It's not like there are a bunch of holster companies making holsters for specifically for women, is there? I've seen a bunch of stupid crap geared towards women, like purses, fanny packs, and bra holsters.

If someone made a holster that I could tuck in my pants behind my back, with the grip facing and leaning to the right, I'd try that in a hot minute. I'm actually considering that Versacarry clip I saw in another thread.

[vicious]

There are a few holster makers that do make holsters cut for women's hips, but I don't think I've ever seen one set up quite like that. I'd be concerned with a drawstroke from that position, with the palm faced out there would be a tendency to cover your own body with the muzzle as you rotated your wrist. Try that a couple times from the waistband with an finger gun and pay attention to where the "muzzle" is pointed as you draw and start moving the gun out to target. I can't imagine how you wouldn't muzzle yourself without making a very wide looping motion.

[Genin]

People consider me very "fashionable". Around the office and other agencies people joke that I am always dressed for a promotion. I'm 6'0" 175lbs of lean machine and I like to dress attractively. I workout a lot and have naturally wide shoulders so this really helps me with concealing while wearing modern styles (can be tight fitting) of clothing. I carry a Glock19 IWB at around 7:30-8:00 (lefty) with no problem at all. My wife doesn't even see it when we are out and about or at home. Infact, she'll sometimes hug onto me or rub on me and feel the gun, and say she had no clue it was there. If she can't tell, pretty sure no one else can. It's like others have said, if you dress like Tac Tom walking around decked out in 5.11 gear then yep, others will pretty much know you are carrying.