Back in the early '90s, when I first started getting into this shooting thing really seriously, you knew somebody was The Real Deal because they carried a customized 1911 in Condition 1 in a Sparks or Rosen IWB holster, strong side. After years of off-and-on carrying Glocks and SIGs and P7s, I'd be lying if I said this didn't have some influence on my choice when I really got serious about toting back in '01 and started packing a Springer Pro.
And, you know, I know I can't have been alone in that thought. I mean, how many people were carrying cocked & locked Government Models, not because it was the setup they had trained with and worked with the best, but because that's what all The Cool Kids were doing?
Similarly, I look around a gun show today and wonder how many kids are running a Glock or M&P in AIWB kydex because that's how they were schooled, and how many are doing it because, like
tying an onion on your belt, it was the style at the time?