Dress Clothes

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Lordy123

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How do you guys who have to wear dress pants, belt, and tucked in dress shirt carry? I cannot find a waist band holster that allows my weapon(Bersa BP9cc or Grand Power K100 P1) to be 100% concealed in this attire. I'm not keen on ankle holsters.

Any tips/tricks/products for this purpose would be greatly appreciated.
 
Not exactly formal wear, but about as close as I get...

Here's the rig I use:

0910110025-1.jpg


This is probably the most comfortable holster I own. It is actually MORE comfortable than some of my OWBs.

The long slits on either side of the holster pouch allow the shirt tail to be drawn down in between the gun and the inside of the pants, while the holster "wings" and belt straps stay outside the shirt.

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I've worn this rig on long car trips, and recently to a rehearsal, wedding, and reception involving a whole lot of time in quasi-formal attire (for me, anyway) for several days. Couldn't ask for a more comfortable choice!

If someone is crawling around on all fours, they might get a glimpse of the holster straps...

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But most folks aren't ever going to see anything even remotely unusual.

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There are plastic and metal belt "clips" that are even less noticeable than the belt loops on mine, but the straps are very unobtrusive anyway, and folks just DON'T pay attention to stuff like this. The only folks who'll see them are gun carriers themselves.


(Just as an example: I was once checked for injuries in an ambulance after a severe rollover auto accident. Neither the EMT nor the State Trooper in the ambulance noticed I was carrying that 1911...and it wasn't even in the tuckable IWB!)
 
Thank you for the detailed post, that is exactly what I need. I've tried similar holsters, but there was no way to keep the shirt tucked, I'll start looking for a holster with those slits.
 
There's an art to it. The deeper the slits, the better.

When dressing, when you've about got everything positioned, unbutton one more time and then pull the shirt tail down hard in front of the holster and behind it one more time, and give it a little tug fore-and-aft to settle the material down into the slits. Then when you cinch your belt snug, it really traps the cloth in there and it shouldn't pull out.

Then adjust the "blousing" all around so that the natural folds of the shirt material envelop any bulges and put the belt and loops into the shadow of the shirt.

It's a bit exaggerated in my last picture there, but really, if you get everything set and then raise your arms over your head, bend over and touch your toes, and do a few side twists, you'll tug the shirt up just enough to blouse naturally.
 
I use a similar method (tuckable IWB holster - in my case a Milt Sparks Versa Max 2) or use a small pistol and a pocket holster. The pocket holster is less obtrusive but it generally limits me on ammo and effectiveness and I lose an entire front pocket worth of storage for all the other junk I carry.
 
Hadn't even thought of shirt color as a factor, thanks for the insight. I usually wear white dress shirts or lighter patterns, might have been part of the problem too.
 
Men used to wear these things called jackets. Makes concealing a pistol pretty easy.
 
Back in the day when I had a real job, a IWB and a sports jacket worked until I went to a snub pocket carry.
I wish those tuckables were available then.
Good luck, I think you are on the right track now.
 
Deep concealment...

Check good websites like www.glockstore.com or www.5.11tactical.com . 5.11 sells undershirts that can conceal/support a loaded handgun. ;)
The main character on USA Network's Burn Notice, www.imfdb.org wore these 5.11 under-shirts a few times. Lenny Magill's website(s) have bike/compression shorts with holsters.
Stickyholsters.com a Florida small business has pocket type holsters for all size weapons. I might get on for my big Glock 21 .45acp gen 04. They sell for about $24.95 each.
If you wear suit coats or sports coats you can buy a decent shoulder rig. Those conceal well & support the weight of the firearm.
 
I stick with pocket carry just because regardless of my dress or location it's always in the same spot and takes 5 seconds to move one pocket to the next. Plus I've noticed even in good IWB setups people move just right and it still prints but I guess with more experience that might happen less.

Depending on where you are though, while 99% of people are completely oblivious, if 1 person 'makes you' it could be a BIG faux pas in professional situations, especially if your colleagues know you're a gun guy. :)
 
Well, here I am all cleaned up for Sunday. There's a Ruger Blackhawk .44 Special under my Wright elbow:

101_0014.jpg


And here on a recent outing, the Ruger is covered by a vest:

100_7507_zpse0c4b5fa.jpg


Bob Wright
 
Add a sport jacket to the ensemble. A jacket on the more casual end of the spectrum can go with a polo/golf shirt, no tie necessary, and looks more professional than a dress shirt alone. Doesn't work so well in midsummer when it's humid, though, if you have to be outside much.
 
Not my picture but this is how I do it with Dockers and a button down shirt. Appendix carry with a tuckable holster.

m_appendix-carry-appendix-holster.jpg


I use High Noon Hidden Ally tuckables and carry G26, Beretta Px4 SC, Ruger LCR this way...my holsters have a wider black clip that I personally thought would scream "gun" but my Wife missed it when I carried this way around the house before I had my CCL (and she was looking for where I had hid the gun!) and no one else has ever spotted it. Folks don't look at the belt loops on a mans pants no matter what we think.

VooDoo
 
You have to have the tailor make the jacket boxy. Tailored, or slim designs will highlight the gun. IWB will not be a cureall.
 
A overlooked part of concealed carry is a natural eye draw. For most folks that's something like a tie, or even a shiny pocketwatch. You can hide a lot in plain sight if you have people looking elsewhere...you can hide anything in a pair of pants with the same effort. In that picture above everyone notices that red tie long before the holster clip.
 
Lol!

That holster was made by a friend of mine, member Joel here. He's been on a hiatus for a while now. I'll have to check and see if he's up to new production or not.
 
Sneaky Pete holsters. I have 'em for my P3AT, P11, & J-Frames. The ones for the P11 & J-Frame do look a little big to be a phone holster, but I don't think most non-gun people will take a second look. Even if they did, who cares? It's still concealed.

Now to hide a full sized 9mm semi while wearing dress clothing, you may need to do a belly band holster or some kind of undershirt with a built-in holster. The other option would be to buy pants that are a size larger and go in-waist-band.
 
I have found that smartcarry has allowed me to carry a Glock 19 most of this year. I dont always tuck but the option is there.
 
First of all, Sam1911, that's one good-lookin' rig. I'd never thought about looking for slits alongside the pistol to aid in tuckability, but that's a good idea.

I use a Crossbreed Supertuck for a G19 most days. In my line of work, I'm expected to wear a jacket to work pretty much every day, and I do. That means that I rarely have to actually tuck the shirt over the gun. Put on the holster, put on the gun, put on the jacket, and I'm off to the races. The exception to that is if I meet my family for dinner after work. In those cases, I have to either wear my jacket through dinner, or slip off to a bathroom stall for a little wardrobe adjustment.

My tips for professional dress:
  1. Jacket -- (a) It looks professional; and (b) allows you to hide pretty much any gun you want to carry. Yes, you'll want to buy them a little boxy.
  2. A good belt that doesn't scream "gunbelt." If it's black, 2" wide, and has a basketweave pattern, it screams "gunbelt." I use an Aker B21 in brown and a DeSantis Econobelt in black. (The DeSantis is closer to screaming "gunbelt" than my Aker, but since I wear it with dark suits, nobody has noticed, or maybe it's just that nobody has said anything.)
  3. Pleated pants, especially if you're going to pocket carry, for helping hide the outline of the gun.
 
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