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My wife reminded me this weekend that I had reached a critical threshold re: pants. It turns out all my pants had  holes and only one pair could still be considered work-appropriate. Barely. So she graciously accompanied me to the GAP to try on some new pants. Also accompanying me was my GLOCK 19 in a Don Hume H715. It is easily my thickest carry rig, so I brought it along to make sure that my new pants could comfortably accommodate IWB carry. Do you bring your piece into the dressing room to make sure your new pants, shorts, dresses, and shirts are compatible with your EDC method of choice?

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79 COMMENTS

    • Me too. I actually had to because I have a unique system I built so that I can access my Glock 19 through a slot cut in a cargo pants pocket. I wear an internal belt with a thigh rig made out of two Blackhawk slide holsters. The regular drop leg rigs are too wide for concealment. I use the level two retention thumb break as well. I have to make sure that any shorts I buy (including swimwear) has a large enough cargo pocket to access the handgun.

        • I watched a video of two guys open carrying on the beach and I was already using my carry rig for cargo shorts so I got the idea. I was at Kohl’s with my wife and tried on a few pairs of swim trunks with cargo pockets while concealing my Glock 19. I was going to make a video of me doing a 1 1/2 off the diving board, drawing my pistol underwater, and coming up and engaging a target poolside. HOW “OPERATOR” IS THAT!? I also wanted to prove that the Glock 19 is highly concealable despite many arguments to the contrary. As they say “watch this space”. I will do it this summer. Right now it is 29 degrees in Atlanta on April 16. Damn global warming!

  2. Whatever I can slide my DRACO into, daily IWB garb is a shower curtain and duct tape.

  3. ATGATT (all the guns, all the time) but really it wouldn’t be necessary because I OC with an OWB holster and the paddle is pretty thin.

  4. My G36 with Laserguard takes up a lot of room. Not to mention the spare mag in the hip pocket. If you want to look neat instead of lumpy, these things HAVE to be considered!

  5. No.

    I don’t like department store fitting rooms. I always feel like I’m being watched. And normally I don’t have a problem with a store putting security cameras up, but the last thing I want is for some goon to be watching me when I’m in my shorts. I know what size I need, so I just buy that size.

  6. It’s not a matter of specifically bringing my EDC to go try on clothes. It’s my EDC. The E stands for every. D for day. Every Day. If I’m going shopping, whether it was planned or spur of the moment, I’m EDC’ing my EDC. So, yes, I “bring it with me” (more like already have it with me) when I try on clothes or do anything else or nothing else.

    • +1
      E.D.C.

      Also, I have 12-15 pair of the exact same black pants. They’re $18 a pair and black doesn’t get filthy at work or on jobsites while still looking professional.

    • Same here. It is with me everywhere. So I just have it. But, I do have to switch my EDC between dress clothes and my regular clothes so I only go shopping for dress clothes when wearing dress clothes and shopping for my everyday clothes in everyday clothes.

    • +100….at first my wife used to say “Do you really need that? We are just going to the store real quick!”, now she ask “Did you remember your gun?”

  9. No – because I have my own haberdasher who tailors my clothes other than jeans. . . just told him leave an extra 1- 1.5 inches for my sidearm.

      • Don’t hate. The cost is not that much more than getting a suit off the rack at Brooks Brothers or Macy’s and spending a ton of time, effort and $$ getting it to fight right. Of course, you are stuck with fabric, color, pattern, and other choices dictated by a 20 something hipster in NYC such as skinny pants/lapels, etc. vs. picking exactly what you want, how you want it styled, and all other details. I made executive early at a fortune 30 company and a VP strongly suggested I go to his haberdasher. I have suits that are 13 yrs old and people thinkl they are new or they notice unusual details (like a wild paisely lining or contrast stitching around working buttonholes or a ticket pocket on the left) and that strikes up a nice conversation.

  11. Considering I live under the fascist regime of Scotland, that isn’t an option. But once I move to Texas when I am old enough then I most certainly will. You’ve got to know if trousers will accommodate your carry piece of choice, besides, you’ll never know when the Changing Room Killer will choose to target you.

  13. Personally, I hate shopping and trying on clothes. I try and stick with the same brand of jeans (normal office attire) so I can keep sizing consistent. I’d much rather buy them and test them out with various rigs in the comfort of my own home and return them later if need be.

  17. I am so busy that I don’t have the time, nor does the local stores in my small town have my size, so I order my clothes via mail order/phone order and have them shipped. However, my father used to go to JC Penny for khakis which he wore all the time, and brought his handgun, or rifle. It would also accompany him to get plumbing and electrical supplies, and his other chores and work.

  21. Yes. Particularly because I’ve recently dropped two pants sizes. Even though I routinely pocket carry, I don’t want a fit too tight to smoothly and quickly bring my revolver to bear. I prefer the relaxed fit jeans.

  22. Yes, but when trying on lots of clothes, I tend to just pocket carry my J frame. For my IWB holsters, I know exactly how much room I need, and repeatedly taking the holster on and off greatly increases the duration of an already loathed shopping trip. Additionally, I do in fact need to see if the pocket on new pants will accommodate the J frame.

  24. Yes. EDC==EDC. And… save $$ on clothing & thus have more for defence/training by shopping at Goodwill! Surprising selection usually & walk out w/casual to dress slacks, etc, for pennies on the $$. I’ve bought Levi’s, Liberty’s, Eddie Bauer, 5.11 Tactical, & similar brands for usually around $5.00 a pair.

  25. Bring your piece with you when you shop for clothes?

    What’s the alternative? Leave it in the car for some asshole to steal?

  26. My last suit fitting I asked the tailor specifically if she would fit me while wearing a weapon. I said I’d settle for just the holster but we’d get a better fit if I had the pistol too as my edc is a G17.

    She said absolutely, we do it all the time.

    Jos A Bank in the Meadows, Lake StL… Just don’t sign up for their Email, holy spam. Good service.

  27. youtube.com/watch?v=U_yBEYq8G1w

    I always try to make my shoes match my gat. Y’know what I’m saying?

    Luckily I look pretty much the same alm year. Blue jeans (usually dark), leather shoes and some dark T-shirt. Preferably without logos.

    This also means that Tupperware doesn’t fit with the look. So I stick with metal and wood grips.

  28. I wear a Don Hume H721, but, Yes, I carry when I buy clothes. And everywhere else. Even with OWB carry, sometimes the belt-loops are in the wrong place. But also cover shirts and jackets need to be long enough to cover at least most of the holster when you bend or squat.

    The days are long gone when a manufacture’s products are made the same size from lot to lot. Every Chinese factory seems to just make their measurements up every morning.

  29. Of course. I leave it sitting on my desk, while I order clothes. Then, when they arrive, I try them on with an IWB holster.

  30. It’s not that I specifically bring it when clothes shopping, it’s that I never leave home without it.

  31. Of course not. I live in the Peoples Democratic Republic of Kaliforniastan. If we carried guns all the unicorns and kittens would die horribly.

  32. I rarely dress any lower than business casual with tucked in shirts and I usually carry when shopping for clothes. Recently I’ve been using the smart carry waistband type holster at 3 o’clock which remains concealed under a shirt very easily as it isn’t on my belt. Sometimes I’ll use my Crossbreed but it’s less concealable, shifts my belt (usually back to be as annoying as possible), doesn’t hold a spare mag, and sags my pants to one side. The perfect holster for me would combine the smart carry and Crossbreed, stick the Crossbreed assembly on a band. It’s just nice to have a holster independent of my belt and therefore pants.

  35. Yes… I find as my waistband expands (luckily it’s stopped at 34) my comfort of carry goes down.

  39. Same as the other guys, EDC means exactly that, including when and where buying clothes. If I’m stopping by a Macy’s or Kohl’s or someplace, it’s not really a big deal. I need to size the pants and the sturdiness of the belt to accommodate my IWB holster, too; but so far nobody in security watching through the camera behind the mirror has ever said anything.

    Where there have been some raised eyebrows here and there have been at the Men’s Wearhouse and Joseph A. Bank, when I’m buying slacks or a suit. There the salesperson comes around with the tape measure to ensure proper fit and measure for any alterations. The awkwardness of that sidearm revelation is usually brief, though, and hasn’t ever amounted to anything. I just give him or her the ol’ “Law & Order” Dennis Farina “It’s ok, I’m authorized” bit, and they just accept that and move on.

  41. “Question of the Day: Do You Bring Your Gun When You Shop for Clothes?”

    Why wouldn’t I…??? I carry wherever I go…

  42. I’m fairly new to EDC, only recently having moved here and gotten my permit. That said, EDC has been pretty easy with an LCP in a DeSanitis Nemesis or Crossbreed Pocket Rocket. The DeSantis is a bit easier to sit on, the Crossbreed disguises itself as a fat wallet better. Six of one, half dozen of the other. My problem is *ahem* muffin top syndrome. That and the fact I ride a motorcycle. All my jeans are aready too loose to stay up by themselves and not much better even with my belt cinched painfully tight. And riding a bike just makes it even less comfortable. Must lose weight is all I can say.

    Soon as I can start wearing reasonably small jeans, say around a 36×30 then I might explore my options. I guess the best place to start for now would be the belt, no?

    Tom

  45. Public changing rooms belong in the 7th circle of hell. I too would rather take pants home, and return them later if need be. On the rare occasion I dare to enter one, in I go with my gun.

  46. When I was getting fitted for a suit I kept in my mind my Glock 17 and how it would fit with the Crossbreed Super Tuck. Didn’t have any problems whatsoever with the fit.

  48. I always have my tailor leave enough space both in the waistband, and for a shoulder rig in the jacket. Being in Cali, all I’ve ever brought are the holsters, though. For motorcycle wear, Vanson has quite a few jackets with a gun pocket. And pretty much all the pants have plenty of adjustability in the waist, although ithat is reallyn not the wisest place to carry a hard metal object if you crash.

  49. I bring it clothes shopping. And grocery shopping. And window shopping. And to the hardware store. And the auto parts store. And the ice cream shop. And to the post office. Uh, I mean, before I lost it in a boating accident.

  50. Duh! Tried on a polo once and my wife immediately said go take it off. You could almost read the serial number it was printing so bad…

  51. Tommy’s Gunpack–a gun belongs outside the pants.

    I always carry a gun, unless I have to be scanned or groped.

  53. The Gap? Well, I suppose it beats Hollister or Pimpercromby & B1tch… 😉
    If I shop for clothing out in the world I take my Glock 19 in a SHTF Ace 1 hybrid. Most of my purchases are done on-line and consist of polo shirts, camp shirts and cargo pants or shorts, none of which are tight-fitting.
    If I have to get another suit, I’ll wear the G19 or a Walther PPS for fitting.

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