An average-size shooter can hide just about anything under an untucked shirt with a quality IWB holster. Photo by Lynn Pedigo

I can’t recall hearing much gun club chatter about wardrobe selection. In fact, not once have I heard our local IDPA champ discuss his favorite cuts, fabrics or colors. If I had to guess, I’d say most shooters spend more time agonizing over a tactical reload they may never execute and room clearing techniques they will never use than they do trying to conceal their CCW rig.

Well, that’s too bad, because if you have a concealed carry permit, what you wear is even more important than what pistol you carry. And based on the number of times I’ve “made” people who were packin’ in my area, a lot of shooters could use some serious help in the wardrobe department.

The problem starts from the day most CCW holders get their permit in the mail. At first, feelings of pride, excitement or, perhaps, gravitas, overwhelm the newly minted pistol packer. But then reality hits. How the heck am I going to hide this damn thing? As overwhelming as solving that problem may seem, dressing appropriately and concealing your pistol is not that difficult with a bit of forethought.

Deciding what to wear may not be as exciting as choosing between the latest Wondernine or custom, light-rail-equipped 1911, but your daily wardrobe is the first factor you should consider when you decide to carry concealed. Instead of jumping in head-first with a new gun, think about how you’re going to hide it.

If you wear a suit, odds are you don’t have to do much to conceal a pretty decent-size pistol. In fact, I regularly carry a full-size 1911 under my suit coat. Well, by regularly, I mean the once or twice a year I wear a suit. But you get the point. A suit jacket, especially if it is a nice, dark color, makes it easy to conceal a full-size 1911 in a standard belt scabbard or inside-the-waistband holster. Unfortunately, fewer and fewer companies require their employees to wear a suit on a daily basis.

Casual Friday or regular, less formal workplace attire makes hiding a full-size pistol tricky. In the winter, you can easily conceal just about anything under a coat or jacket. In fall weather, a sweatshirt or windbreaker will easily hide most guns provided you choose your holster appropriately. But dressing nice, even if that means jeans and khakis, is tough to do with a sweatshirt or windbreaker, and those unsightly concealment vests don’t look good either.

That leaves fewer options. Tuckable holsters will help you hide a medium-size pistol, but they’re slow. Ankle holsters limit you to small-framed guns and are even slower. Pocket holsters are an excellent alternative, but they limit you to a J-frame-size revolver or pocket pistol.

I wear a Kel Tec P3AT in a Bulman pocket holster or my NAA .380 in an Aker pocket holster on a regular basis (I use whichever one my wife doesn’t). Either pistol is very effective up close and personal, but they have limited range and firepower.

Warm-weather carry presents a more difficult problem. Here on the Texas Gulf Coast, it feels like summer every day, making T-shirts or golf shirts the order of the day for those of us not required to wear a suit to work. Concealing a decent-size pistol under such flimsy garments takes a quality holster and careful attention to details like colors and cuts.

To effectively conceal a midsize pistol under a golf or T-shirt, said garment must be cut generously enough to keep the gun from printing. Golf shirts are great, but box-cut shirts, which are designed to be worn untucked, are an even better choice.