Looking for apparel suggestions for concealed carry

[wolfshead]

I will be concealed carrying from this Tuesday. Since the weather is getting rather warm, I was looking at 511 Covert shirts and some kind of a light summer jacket.

Do you have any suggestions as to where I can get the best deals for shirts and jackets for concealed carry?

I dress business casual to work but I can't carry on site. I'll have to leave my firearm in the car.

Thanks

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Jamie Young]

Well,


There are a lot of options, but you can always buy the Eotac shirts or get them for free if you enter this DC.com giveaway http://www.defensivecarry.com/vbulle...-giveaway.html

[goldshellback]

The biggest change you'll be making (IMO) will be (or should be) is with your belt and holster selection. Get a quality gun belt(s) and shop around for several holsters that'll cover the large precentage of your carrying needs.

511's and other lines of tactical apperal are cool looking and many are rather useful, but the object is concealment and not so much looking the part. Think grey man......a complete blending in with those around you. A tuckable IWB holster (i.e. Comp-Tac or Crossbreed) matched with a good belt will do more for your concealment than your choice of clothing.

I spent several years in NW Washington state and the weather there, even in summer, makes choosing clothes that'll conceal a sidearm a much easier one.
I'd suggest that before you change a portion of your wardrobe start dressing around your sidearm and holster(s) with what you already own.....that'll identify exactly what aspects of your clothing you should (or want) to change.
After a little while carrying you'll be able to specificly ID what you need and that'll simplify your shopping for clothing.

[threefeathers]

Goldshellback is correct, think concealed not tactical.
I have the 511 and EOTAC gear also, but try to dress grey.
Shirts, go ahead and get a couple of the EOTAC or 511 covert shirts, suppliment them with Hawaiian shirts, pull over shirts (I like banded bottoms) and button front shirts that don't tuck in.
I was told to keep bland colors and happen to like green and blue, but I confess to a bright red print to wear on Arbor Day. (Honoring the palms I saw in SE/Asia, the Napalms)

Slacks, The covert 511 and EOTAC jeans are great. But I just had the tailor at Men's Wearhouse cut my dress slacks for a gun.

Jacket, I oftenwear a sportcoat. Winter is easier and an athletic windbreaker is golf tango golf.

The KEY is belt and holster, they must be quality.
I use the Don Hume belt and a Wild Bill Covert or a Bianchi IWB holster for my HK's Sig's and Glocks. For my 1911 I use the Sparks HR II LTD.

[Cupcake]

I haven't really changed my wardrobe for carrying... Jeans or shorts and tshirt does just fine. Really, noone is scrutinizing everyone they see for little bulges. On the occasion when discretion is more important that day-to-day, I wear a button down cover garment, or switch to the keltec P3AT. I am not committing a crime, so I don't get too wound up over the idea of printing a little...even if someone notices, so what?

[BikerRN]

If you wear skin tight clothing even a Raven .25 ACP is going to be difficult to conceal at times.

I too am of the opinion that a good Belt and Holster will do more to aide your ability to hide a handgun than any "tacticool" clothing. I wear two guns off duty, at a minimum. I also carry two reloads for each gun.

My "normal" mode of dress in the summer months is Cargo Shorts from Sam's Club and a Hawaiian or Camp Shirt with flip flops on my feet. It ain't "tacticool" but I don't look out of place either. The only people I see wearing 5.11 are Mall Ninjas and Feds. The feds wear them because their agency gives them to them. The mall ninjas because they want to look cool.

In the winter months I favor Carhartt Canvas Pants and work shirts. In short, I blend in to my environment. This, with the proper belt and holster will do more to aiding your concealed handgun than all the "tacticool" clothing in the world.

At work I wear 5.11 and such clothing. Why would I want to wear it off duty?

Biker

[QKShooter]

This vest at Rogue Elite is nicely styled and especially good looking.
It does not look like the more common photographer type "shoot me first" vest.

Here is the link to Rogue Elite ~~~> http://www.rogueelite.net/
Look around over there & you'll spot it or you may find something else that you like more.
Jamie sells some nice stuff.

[wolfshead]

I just got my MTAC Minotaur holster yesterday and it concealed my Glock 36 pretty well with a Polo and jeans. I need to buy a size bigger for my jeans I think for it to fit comfortably. The pants I currently wear are from Kenneth Cole or Express and they are a bit tight for concealed carry.

I agree I should not look like an off duty cop with all 511 branded clothes. That would be a dead giveaway!

I did order a belt from Fox Creek Leather for $35 A large image from Fox Creek Leather

I may pick up a London Fog hipster jacket from Macy's for $50
London Fog Microfiber Hipster Jacket - Coats & Jackets - Men's - Macy's

[MinistrMalic]

I wear slacks and an button-down silk shirt a lot that is untucked...at 5'10" 200lbs I can conceal a 4" XD .40 very well and a 3" XD 9 superbly on a Galco OWB holster. I get nice ones on sale off-season at department stores for like $10-20 (as opposed to getting say Tommy Bahamas shirts for $100!), lots of colors and patterns. No one looks at me twice...but then again I ain't all that much to look at. :)

[JEAM]

a good button up t shirt unbuttoned and untucked will hide about anything you want not to mention chicks dig the look ;)

[bzdog]

Hey Neighbor,

While I don't specifically have suggestions about *where* to buy clothes, I can tell you a bit about my clothing decisions.

After mulling it over a bit, I feel like darkish, non uniform, prints are best, about one size too large.

Darkish since it reflects less light and makes it harder to see shapes.

Randomish pattern also makes it harder to pick out shapes. Non-random patterns potentially you'd pick up the interaction between the shape and the pattern, but with random patterns, there is no visual reference point.

Slightly large means it will be less likely to hug your firearm creating an imprint. Only slightly large so you look more laid back than like a slob.

In reality, any of these by themselves can do a reasonable job concealing. But if one is good, three must be better, right? :-)

After searching around, this more or less meant Hawaiian shirts, and darker tie dyed tee shirts and the occasional batik shirt (not very common).

For casual, wearing IWB, you can just untuck and you are pretty much ready to go. This works well in hot weather since you just have one shirt. Using the same approach, you can just wear a tee untucked.

Combine the shirt with a tee shirt, and you have a number of options. You can tuck the tee and wear the shirt buttoned or unbuttoned as a cover garment, or untuck the tee also.

If you want even deeper concealment, wear both the tee and the shirt untucked so there is two layers. Leaving the shirt unbuttoned in this configuration is probably best since the tee probably works pretty well by itself, but the shirt will move around a bit, making it even harder to see anything.

For more formal occasions (like work), you can wear your shirt tucked with a sports jacket. I tend to wear a canvas sports jacket which splits the difference between looking too dressed and too casual.

I think people are more accepting of people wearing a sports jacket, even in warmer weather because some people just like to dress a bit nicer or assume you need it for your job, etc.

As others have pointed out, belt is important, and I ended up with a Galco dress belt, which both provides great support, but also doesn't look like a gun belt.

Pants are just kaki/cargo pants of various varieties.

Examples:

tie dyed tee (I have and like this one)
Hawaiian shirt
Canvas jacket (I have and like this one)
Galco SB9 dress belt (This is the one I have)

[JEAM]

If you want even deeper concealment, wear both the tee and the shirt untucked so there is two layers. Leaving the shirt unbuttoned in this configuration is probably best since the tee probably works pretty well by itself, but the shirt will move around a bit, making it even harder to see anything.

that's my preferred attire :p

[Rugergirl]

What works best for us(hubby and I) is blending in with the norm. Wear what you're comfortable with, that hides what you want to keep hidden, but nothing drastically different from what most of the sheep in your area normally wear.
Tacticool, might be cool to you but it often looks out of place with what most other people wear.
For hubby in warmer weather a tee shirt with a short sleeve button up worn over top conceals either the G19 or the 1911 easily.
For me, with 3 carry guns to choose from, I have a bigger variety of choices. If I want shorts and a tee shirt, I'll use my Smart Carry and carry a snubbie. Tonight was dinner out, slacks and a gauze peasant style blouse with an elastic hem, hid my 1911 with no problems. Had I decided to carry the 686+ it would have hidden just as well.

[Adamcop84]

I have tried an unbuttoned polo shirt and if i walk to fast it flies up and u can see my piece.

a good button up t shirt unbuttoned and untucked will hide about anything you want not to mention chicks dig the look ;)

[Geronimo45]

Found (I think) the covert shirt you mentioned here:
Brigade Quartermasters - Gear: Above and Beyond Standard Issue
I've bought stuff from 'em before, and I get the notion that they have a good relationship with 5.11, and probably some of the better deals on 'em. As for a summer jacket - what kind of jacket are you after? Sportcoat, safari/field jacket?