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Thread: The Specialized Clothing Issue Always Seems To Crop Up.

  1. #11
    Site Supporter rob_s's Avatar
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    As I've said before, my primary reason for not carrying or wearing "gun guy shit" is so as not to get stuck talking with other "gun guys". This after getting stuck in said conversations in the past because I was wearing a Bravo Company hat or similar.

    I'm relatively certain that there is not negative outcome related to cops or bad guys looking at my Magpul shorts and thinking "that guy probably has a gun".

  2. #12
    Site Supporter MGW's Avatar
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    I can't tell you how many times I've walked by someone that was open carrying and the person with me didn't even notice the gun. The majority of people aren't going to pick up on tacticool clothing either. And I agree that at the end of the day it doesn't really matter.

    I tend to notice how someone carries themselves more than I notice what they are wearing.

  3. #13
    Member orionz06's Avatar
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    It's a buncha things...

    • What you wear
    • How you wear it
    • Where you wear it
    • What you're doing
    • Who you wanna remain unselected by
    • Who we don't wanna look like




    I think the last two points influence dress the most. If we work out who we don't wanna be noticed by we can kinda map out where we can go and what choices we can make. Personally I don't wanna stand out to anyone. Looking like some random dude is the goal. I don't wanna look like an armed citizen or capable citizen to anyone, cops, soccer moms, or criminals. This means I don't wanna look like a guy with a gun, a criminal, off duty cop, plain clothes cop, or plain clothes FBI, and of course the TSA. This means that any of the exposure to those types of people will need to be considered. TV, movies, reality all need to be considered.

    What does a good guy LEO look like on TV? What does a former Army dude about my age look like on TV? This is a deep hole but I think yinz get the idea.

    What you do and where you do it go together, looking like someone who should be there dressed like someone who should be there is helpful. I get my haircut at the mall every three weeks and make it a point to do a lap of both floors and just people watch. Partly because I like the mall and check things out but also because it's almost always gonna result in seeing *something* of note. This weekend I was there and was able to observe both a uniformed municipal cop and a plain clothes cop follow a few people briefly. One was racially motivated and the other was based on attire. Some dudes "gun guy" shirt with all kinda of 2A stuff on it got the uniformed LEO to follow behind by a store and a half. Is that a big deal, being noticed by a random cop at the mall? Nope. Still don't want it to happen though. A benign person in the background is all I wanna be. The plain clothes LEO mentioned was following a larger group of young males who passed a fair amount of cash around while multiple parties counted the money. Tough to say what happened but the dude was a like a hawk on it.

    Thankfully jeans and t-shirts tend to work out quite well for this. Dressing a touch nicer doesn't hurt either. One of these days I may do that. Until then I've got a library of band shirts and boots.
    Think for yourself. Question authority.

  4. #14
    This brings up the topic of observation. It takes work and much practice to be observant, to be able to recall and identify what a person looked like, what they were wearing, their height and weight, the color of their hair, etc.

    I like to play mental games when I'm out in public, especially while waiting in line or waiting for my wife, to note as many individuals as I can and what would be the signature defining characteristic of that person if I had to describe them. I considerate it to be perfecting a skill set, and it gives me something to do besides playing with my phone.

    I agree that most people don't care. And most people see but they seldom notice.


    -------------------------------------------
    I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.
    Last edited by SkippySanchez; 06-06-2018 at 01:13 PM.

  5. #15
    Member ubervic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GreggW View Post
    I can't tell you how many times I've walked by someone that was open carrying and the person with me didn't even notice the gun. The majority of people aren't going to pick up on tacticool clothing either. And I agree that at the end of the day it doesn't really matter.

    I tend to notice how someone carries themselves more than I notice what they are wearing.
    This may be what it all boils down to.

    I recall waiting in line to add air to my tires at a Sheetz near my home about 6-8 months ago. I avoid staring at my phone in public, even when inside my own car, and so I often people-watch.

    I noticed the gent adding air to his vehicle just before me was wearing a t-shirt and jeans and work boots, and reasonably inconspicuous. But as he crouched down to air-up each of his tires, it was glaringly obvious that he was carrying, as he was printing all day long at 4:30. His shirt was hiked up almost as far as to literally reveal the actual grip of the pistol. I glanced around a bunch of times expecting to spot anyone who noticed, but I saw no one who even seemed to look his way.

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by rob_s View Post
    As I've said before, my primary reason for not carrying or wearing "gun guy shit" is so as not to get stuck talking with other "gun guys". This after getting stuck in said conversations in the past because I was wearing a Bravo Company hat or similar.
    I seem to have incredibly bad luck in this area although not really related to guns. I used to work in a factory that really wasn't heated in the winter. I wore a Cowboys hoodie to work one day and had some asshole go out of his way to pass my work station and yell "Cowboys Suck" all day long. In another instance some random woman followed me through Monument Valley Park rattling on about "Ralphie" the CU Buffalo because I had a CU hat on.

    Bottom line I don't wear anything except a hat that says "Estes Park" with a logo on it because I don't want to invite random people into my life.

  7. #17
    Site Supporter Totem Polar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GreggW View Post
    I can't tell you how many times I've walked by someone that was open carrying and the person with me didn't even notice the gun. The majority of people aren't going to pick up on tacticool clothing either. And I agree that at the end of the day it doesn't really matter.

    I tend to notice how someone carries themselves more than I notice what they are wearing.
    Yeah, I can run with this as a loose guide for the sport of observation. Although, obvious tells (black rifle coffee or ranger up shirts, GSSF hat, Gadsden flag patch, yes...) are, uh... obvious.

    Anecdotes:

    I go out to coffee with a professor buddy of mine. As we enter the residential neighborhood coffee place, an off-duty plainclothes cop sees the Gasden snek patch on my jacket, and strikes up a conversation about the patch. After I tell him that it’s the unoffical motto of the adjuncts in the department I’m in, he replies: "I see. Usually that patch implies concealed carry." It made for an interesting conversation. Not only that, but it turns out that he had #1, been involved in multiple OIS, #2, was involved in training for the local PD, and #3, used to work in the same coffeeshop my wife worked in over 20 years ago—which is why we seemed familiar to each other. As it happens, I had just picked up the mail, including an inaugural pack from @Tau Development Group, so he got one of the first gadgets shipped, for his own T&E.

    Maybe 5 or 6 years ago, my wife and I had an opportunity to beta test the RAINDROP course from Graham Combat. The class took place over 3 drizzly days in downtown Seattle. At one point, she and I are at the rendezvous, standing with a few others waiting for the class to regroup. We look down the busy sidewalk to see Matt walking up the hill, wearing plain jeans, red converse high tops, and a basic Filson wool coat. My wife observes "it doesn’t matter what he’s wearing, Matt is still a seriously imposing motherfucker..."

    Some people just exude danger, even in goofy shoes and no outward sign of Nighthawk iron or employment.

    At the friendly, local artsy coffee place in my own neighborhood, a regular introduces me to another regular that I hadn’t met yet. Attorney. As we are chewing the fat about cars and music, I can see the bulge well enough to tell it’s a 1911 pattern. Nothing came of it. A few months later, I’m walking to my lane at the range, and see the same dude in one of the first lanes, shooting some sort of two-tone, melty looking, Commander—maybe a Kimber.

    I dunno why I’m mentioning all that stuff. Only the Matt Graham observation is especially germane.

  8. #18
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    IMNSHO, dialed in folks on both sides of the fence take note of each others' uniforms. In that vein, I have eschewed 5.11s and other baggie pants for the more moderns cuts found in EB First Ascent, Prana, Kuhl and similar knock offs by Costco and others.

    Southnarc's recent posting re the too baggie look and the ever decreasing need to go up +2 on the waistwhen carrying AIWB has only reinforced my movement away from the "tactical teddy" look to a more Scout Dad/REI/Moosejaw/EB Lover kind of vibe.

    YMMV Greatly

  9. #19
    Hoplophilic doc SAWBONES's Avatar
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    I have always eschewed the "tactical" look in any form, whether 5.11-type items or gun-branded shirts/hats, preferring instead to use either off-the-rack clothing and accessory items not identified with CCW, or sometimes bespoke.

    I don't want anybody to even notice me, much less think "CCW" or "cop".

    I'm convinced that the majority of people notice almost nothing, but there are some gun-savvy folks out there, and I'd rather "fly under the radar" with everybody, all the time.
    "Therefore, since the world has still... Much good, but much less good than ill,
    And while the sun and moon endure, Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure,
    I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good." -- A.E. Housman

  10. #20
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    Do police notice - I will tell this funny story again. I was flying to a conference (American Society for Criminology). So what to wear to fly? I decided to wear tan 5.11s because they have lots of useful pockets. Shirt - I dunno - I chose a black polo shirt for no reason. At the connecting flight to the convention city. I see a very tough looking woman and she gives me a big smile. Well, I'm too old to be cute. Then I look around as there was a slew of men and women in 5.11s and black polos that had some kind of Federal patch on them. Probably going to the conference. That made me laugh.

    Anyway, I wear floppy shirts as cover for my gun. I only wear a tac vest for a match as it helps to carry stuff. I ditch it in the car when the match is over.

    I do remember going out for BBQ after an Insights class in boonies TX. We had a table with about 12 guys all in tac vests and looking hard-ass (haha). A local lawperson comes in with a big cowboy hat and a chromed SAA with a belt of rounds. Gave us the stink eye.

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