Dressing the "part"...benefits and drawbacks?

I'd say a lot of it would depend on your environment. I wear "tactical" pants part of the time, and also "non-tactical" cargo pants as well. I see cargo pants pretty frequently here, I don't really take time to notice if they're of the 5.11 sort or not.

Camoflage is pretty common here too, but mostly either Woodland camo or the assorted hunting camos, it's rare to see anyone besides an actual soldier wearing ACU or any of the digital camos.

I'm of the "blend in" mentality myself. I wouldn't want to wear a full-on "tactical" outfit doing my daily thing any more than I would a tailored 3-piece suit. Both would stick out quite noticeably...

Well, I still wear 501's just like I have for decades (albeit in a slightly larger size). Then again, I wear OWB and cover with an appropriate shirt or jacket.

I'm not really worried about "printing" as I think folks are overly concerned about it. I doubt any non-gunny folks would even think twice about any sort of bulge or odd ball shape under your shirt or jacket. Heck, they probably think its a colostomy bag.

The only "tactical"(if you wish to call it that) item I wear is a photo journalist vest in warm weather. No external mag pockets or anything like that, just a plain khaki vest. In cooler weather, my cover garment may be a camo BDU jacket, denim vest/jacket, or fleece vest. I wear a ball cap ALL the time(usually a logo from a local ag supply or similar) , jeans, and boots. This is typical farm country attire so cargo pants would be out of context with the norm. Lots of camo around these parts, too.
I can honestly say that a person togged out in head to toe 511 gear is going to get looked over well although the occasional black or khaki cargo pants will get a pass.

too subjective as everybody will have different environments. look around you; does your mode of attire fit in or stand out?

You might go with the "Gray Man" dress code.
Dress like most of the people in your area and do and say nothing that makes you stand out. Be very "forgettable".

Fanny packs work well if you live in an area where there is a big tourist population. If you do this get a computer printed logo like Canon or Fuji you can iron on. It just takes the right computer paper you can get at a hobby shop.

If you have to wear a suit go to a good tailor and get the jacket altered to hide your carry piece. They can also reinforce you holser area to reduce wear from your holster. A good tailor can work wonders by reinforcing holster areas with leather or the proper fabric or leather or suede.

In short try to dress to blend in with the folks in your area.

This is something I have struggled with for a very long time. Having been in deadly situations time and time again, I have tried both, the inconspicuous method of carrying everything concealed, and open carry firearm, magazine pouches, pepper spray, and an X2 Defender taser, and a flash light.

As for carrying in open view, I had a bad experience about 3 or 4 years ago in which I struggled with someone who was trying to take my handgun out of my belt holster, and I was just fortunate he didn't prevail. So I'm not completely comfortable with OC for this reason, but I still feel that it can serve as an effective deterrent, just not every day and every where I go. In my situation, I was not paying attention, and therefore I feel about 99% responsible for that incident having erupted. So some bad guys might see your arsenal as an opportunity to get a free gun, and then use it against you.

GS

At work, it's jeans and a flannel shirt when it's cool, jeans and a snap front Western shirt when it's warm, and maybe cargo shorts and a t shirt when it's hot.

When not working, I'll go up market a bit, and wear a sweater or sport coat when it's cool. Still probably not very tactical. Lol

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jeepnik said:

Well, I still wear 501's just like I have for decades (albeit in a slightly larger size). Then again, I wear OWB and cover with an appropriate shirt or jacket.

I'm not really worried about "printing" as I think folks are overly concerned about it. I doubt any non-gunny folks would even think twice about any sort of bulge or odd ball shape under your shirt or jacket. Heck, they probably think its a colostomy bag.

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Ohhhh...that's a disgustingly FUNNY idea you have there! Turn that into a "colostomy bag holster" and you've elevated concealed carry to a new level! Or maybe new depths...

Imagine being called out for "printing" while carrying concealed with your new colostomy bag holster! You could get a lot of embarrassed appologies from people a little green around the gills once they get a look at the bag.

At work, it's jeans and a flannel shirt when it's cool, jeans and a snap front Western shirt when it's warm, and maybe cargo shorts and a t shirt when it's hot.

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This, except I dont work, retired is good.

Crank in some long hair, beard, and a cane, and Im just another untactical old guy.

Jeans and an untucked button-front short for me most of the time, along with trail or work boots (sometimes cowboy boots, but I just recently retired my favorite pair.) Clean-shaven, and short hair.
This look is common around here for men in my demographic (race and age.) So, no, I guess I won't come across as "looking tactical", but I don't think I make any less attractive a target than I would in 5.11 stuff. I still get mistaken for a cop every now and then.

Jeans and T-shirt. I don't wear *tactical* gear unless it is issued and needed for the task. I do have *tactical* accessories such as a good leather gunbelt, flashlight etc. Buzzcut hairstyle if that counts. But I don't walk around like a model from US cav.

Be careful assuming that other people are going to know what 5.11 even is. Of course stuff like 5.11, fanny packs, etc look like "tells" that someone is carrying...to us. We carry and we are immersed in the culture. But I would highly doubt if more than 1-2% of the population even knows what 5.11 or Blackhawk is. If I wore a shirt that said "Blue Devils" or "Cavaliers" on it, would any of you know what it was referring to? You might assuming it was the sports teams. You'd be wrong, they're shirts I got while marching Drum and Bugle Corps and if you're not someone who's familiar with that, there's a good chance you'd have no idea what my shirt is about. That's what I'm talking about. Concealed carry is still a pretty niche culture, especially people who are into it enough to regularly post on a forum about it. Don't assume that because we know what 5.11 is that the average person even knows that company exists.

In my area, khaki cargo pants and shorts are had by everyone and their mother. I find much of the 511 stuff to be rather subdued and unassuming. Now if somebody is walking around with a full on tac vest, camo'd out with Corcoran jump boots then that may flag you as a cc'er.

For the past year or so it's been pretty much Wrangler cargo pants (#34006 - I like the easy access mini-pocket for the cell phone) for me, with a Duluth longtail tee worn untucked. Sloppy? Yep.

Ditch the tee, touch up a clean pair of the Wranglers with an iron, tuck in a button-up shirt, shift the 642 to a cargo pocket and I'm actually sorta presentable.

You could hide an AK under there..

Ragnar's reply got me to remembering. A few years ago a friend showed up wearing a Disney Princess fanny pack. Seems his daughter had decided his fanny pack was better. So smart man that he was, he just took her's.

I doubt anyone thought it was concealing a firearm. And, I'm sure more than one person put a bit more distance between them.

Sadly, his wife finally made him quit wearing it. She was embarrassed. Of course, she didn't feel a bit embarrassed carrying her Disney purse. Women, go figure.

I think it's very possible to overthink this.

I think a lot of the trend in wearing things like 5.11 khakis comes from a healthy defense industry, and a lot of contractors and consultants wearing them. If you work for one of these outfits, they have very strict rules about carrying weapons on the job.

I wore BDU pants a lot when I was a teenager. But if I see them now, I usually see a skater or hipster, not a guy who can't wait to get a chance to pull the trigger on someone.

I don't much care anymore. I usually wear a ball cap from Magpul with a 3rd ID patch velcroed on the front, and a molon labe tab on the back. A lot of my clothing is t-shirts from gun industry vendors. I wear a Luminox watch, which a lot of people recognize as Navy gear. If the sun is shining, I will be wearing ESS shades with Rx inserts. The same ones I wore in Iraq.

I look at it this way. I lived in northern Europe for four years, All of that time I was in some kind of active or reserve military status. It never once occurred to me to try to hide that. But now, when I go overseas TDY, the guidance is to not stand out, don't tell anyone you're military, don't carry baggage that looks like you got it from the army. To be honest, I find it absurd. I would rather face any confrontation that comes my way than let bullies, cowards, and terrorists tell me how to dress. But I guess I'm just a different breed of cat. (And I don't want to go buy new baggage.) It's just a bit late in the game to start worrying what will happen if people realize I am in the profession of arms.

mljdeckard said:

.I wore BDU pants a lot when I was a teenager. But if I see them now, I usually see a skater or hipster, not a guy who can't wait to get a chance to pull the trigger on someone..

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What?

I don't wear any 511 clothing, but I do wear a lot of NRA shirts, which my wife buys a lot of, out of the catalogs. I like them and don't really care what anybody else thinks of them, or what a potential thug thinks of me.