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CCW Clothing you hate/love

38K views 176 replies 130 participants last post by  Bad Bob 
#1 ·
#4 ·
I carry IWB in all attire. I don't own a vest, and am perfectly comfortable carrying a full-sized Glock in as little as shorts and T-shirt. I wear a Wilderness Instructor except when dressing formally, when I use a Brommeland custom leather belt.
 
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#7 ·
I still see people wearing the stupid things (shoot me first vests)
I resemble that. :embarassed: I have a bunch of vests, but they match my cowboy boots and my cowboy hats. :image035: Not quite like ladies shoes and purses, but yes, I do wear vests. But I live in Colorado, and I ride a horse too, and drive a Suburban.

My outfits probably wouldn't be as inconspicuous in, say, Boston. Out here, it's the norm.
 
#10 ·
I'd like to love those "carry shirts", the square bottomed ones with snaps and fake buttons. Great idea. I can't fall in love though since they have those giveaway Velcro vents at the bottom.

I never wear just a T shirt any more because I am a Gentleman. :tongue: I've been into the "bowling shirt" look for a lot longer than I've been carrying. Charlie Sheen's character in "Two and a Half Men" had the style down pat. I think you can even buy those exact shirts on the Web.

I must have learned it from my big bellied, revolver packing Uncle. :king:
 
#89 ·
..... Every time I see one it's an older gent that you just know has a 1911 on him. LOL
I guess that's me.....(but be warned: I know how to use that 1911!)
The only people who call them 'shoot me 1st vests' are other gun people. I have NEVER heard of any body getting shot because of the vest.......
 
#15 ·
I agree. Honestly, up until this point I had never even thought of people wearing vests as a being at any more risk than anyone else. To be honest, I think that even if I asked a few LEO buddies they would probably say that a vest was no real reason to suspect anybody of concealed carrying unless it was being worn in the dead of summer. I trust the observation skills of an LEO far more than the observation skills of a common thug (which I have dealt with many)

On a side note:

I know, I know, now I'm going to hear from the folks that don't like the analogy of Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs. It's just an analogy...Get over it!
I like that analogy, I don't see why anyone wouldn't.
 
#14 ·
Honestly, I really do not know what is worse. I am not an imposing character at 5'7" and buy the way I move, some may be able to see the years have not been kind to my back and knees. I think most young guys will think they could take me down easily, and they may be right. I am slower and weaker than I once was. I do not advertise that I have been a gun guy all my life and I do not dress like one. I look like a typical grand fatherly guy who does not look for trouble.

Does looking vulnerable to attack invite attack? Does looking ready for a fight invite a more savage and sudden an attack? Personally, my experience is that people like soft targets when they can find them. I understand surprise is one of the tactical advantages I may have in reacting to an attack. But is it really the fact that I ultimately look weaker that makes me a target? Nobody chooses a death match with someone who has the odds in their favor.
 
#17 ·
A load out like described above would be in my opinion a "shoot me vest" but I rarely see people dressed like that, and when I do they are usually at gun shows. A regular Urban/Suburban BG would probably just assume the guy wearing a load out like you described above is a hiker, a more rural BG would probably see the "shoot me first vest" like the one described above for what it is.
 
#18 ·
The only clothing I have that is specifically for carrying is my 5.11 instructor belt. The only other thing I have bought specifically because I carry was a longer jacket so I could carry OWB. I'm OK being un=tacticool on this one.
 
#20 ·
Carry clothes that I hate...Pretty much anything that would require me to grow a mustache and wear a "Van Halen 1983-world tour" baseball hat to compliment it. Sorry old timers, but I guess Im part of the young, hip,armed and dangerous generation. Vest's and fanny-packs just dont do it for me.
 
#95 ·
Van Halen Rocks! ...

Furthermore the care free attitude of the 1983 world vacation tour (which cannot be matched regardless of age!!) is exactly the kind of easy-going air that will not get you "made" easily.

The "who you lookin' at ? " attitude of a 'hip , armed and dangerous generation" is sure attract more issues & increase the likelihood of poor outcomes.

Remember "old timers" are the ones who actually survive the mean streets of life!
 
#21 ·
I like 5.11 covert carry shirts. They have break-away sides for quick access, and they don't scream "armed". I have never had anyone acknowledge they knew how they worked. I also live in cargo shorts in the heat of summer, and they conceal a front pocket carried J frame snubbie extremely well.
 
#22 ·
I found vests to be a useful part of a CCW wardrobe in certain climates. Not the "shoot me first" styles, but that you would find as sportswear styles. Sometimes the weather is cool to cold and maybe with the sun sometimes coming out (like fall or prior to spring) and a vest can be kept on much longer than a jacket without overheating. I would carry strongside with one (IWB or not). And a vest ventilates well if you have to cool off.

I liked jeans with an oversized waist for IWB carry, but not baggy. Also, jeans blend well with the heavier belts worn for good holster support.

Hated jackets cut higher on the waist line. Hated RL Polos, never seemed to work for me for concealment. The material or something.
 
#25 ·
I'm just wondering how many of the "I HAVE A GUN" clothing items that we as CC'ers recognize so easily stand out the same way to your typical BG???

Has anyone seen any studies on this?

I'm not a vest wearer, nor a fanny pack, but I've been wearing cargo pants since I was in my teens, and have only recently started carrying....

I had never given it a second thought that someone might think I had a concealed weapon because I was wearing cargos.

My point is, I never considered some types of clothing as loud of a message as it seems is being conveyed here.
 
#28 ·
As a certifiably old guy, I found this all very entertaining. I didn't know there was a Fashion Police within the CCW world. Well, I'm busted. Here in the rural west I wear a vest about 320 days out of the year, maybe more. It has nothing to do with fashion and everything to do with practicality. In cooler weather I wear an Outback oilskin. In warm weather I wear a light fleece vest. So, I get shot first, will it be by a bad guy or by a member of the Fashion Police?
 
#29 ·
I have a real nice "shoot me first" vest. The only problem with it is that it has so many pockets, I always lose things in it. I can feel it there, but I can never figure out which of the 8 overlapping pockets I put it in.

My standard Florida carry wear is basic pants (jeans, slacks, Dockers, shorts) and a couple of shirts (one under, one over). I've found nice button down collared shirts that look decent untucked. The Cuban guyabuera and Hawaiian type shirts are perfect examples. I DO like tac shorts and slacks too. Helps keep everything organized and secure. Once we're in jacket weather here, then I can pretty much carry anything.

As I've said before, the second hand store is the perfect place to work up a carry attire. With shirts for $3, you can afford to try out different things and give back whatever you didn't find that worked. And I dunno about your thrift shops, but I find quality brand names and stuff that's hardly worn. Not that I'm cheap, either. I let my tailor sew in new deeper pockets into my slacks for pocket carry, and I always get fitted with my piece on the hip.
 
#31 ·
Pretty much anything that would require me to grow a mustache and wear a "Van Halen 1983-world tour"
You forgot mulletts there, whippersnapper. :gah:



Sorry old timers, but I guess Im part of the young, hip,armed and dangerous generation.
Pictures, please! :wink:



We need a new Sub-Forum obviously, "Dress for Success," to help us "old timers" avoid fashion mistakes. :embarassed: When I am old, I shall wear PURPLE. Even if it's not available at Cabela's or BPS.
 
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#32 ·
Cargo shorts are great for all the above reasons. BUT, black (any length) but especialy knee high socks and birkenstock sandles are not. Love my cargo shorts, love my birkenstocks, black socks everyday for work, but not together. And while on this rant, if you wear a vest to the mall, leave the Winchester AA 25 straight patches and the IDPA Regional Qualifier patch off of it. I have seveal of the first and am very proud of them, but not at the mall. Saw this at the mall in Lubbock, TX a while back. The guy was waiting for his wife or girlfriend out side Victoria's Secret. Saw them both later. Here's the secret, "Just because you CAN buy spandex doesn't mean you SHOULD by spandex".
 
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#33 ·
I think I own one pair of slacks, I know they no longer fit. Same way with the shirt that matches them.

If it's above 75 F I'm wearing shorts with pockets on the side of the knees, call them cargo shorts if you will. If it's not shorts it's jeans. I get front pocket wallets so I don't have to sit on the clump of leather and plastic.

If I'm not at work I'm wearing normal fitting t-shirts or Charlie Sheen style shirts (when I wanna be stylin'). At work I'm able to wear shorts or jeans (yay), but the damn shirts I wear are not cotton and therefore too clingy.

I picked up a vest on clearance at Kohls a year or 2 ago. It is a sport vest, reversible, gray fleece on the hot side, black nylon on the cool side. It has the normal belly area pockets inside and out.

I can't stand the collar and the zipper so I'm on the lookout for a lightweight canvas vest like you'd see someone working at a hardware store wearing. Not a lot of pockets and gizmos, no NRA or assorted gun logos, not a hunting/fishing vest, no off the wall colors, just something simple with maybe an extra pocket or two.

I figure it would be easy to pull off at work were I could put my pen and brain in a breast pocket like in my work shirts. I only wear the thing at work afterall. The one I'm wearing hasn't got me shot yet but it looks like a fleece vest that I see several people wear except theirs say north face or columbia on it.
 
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