How to Carry Concealed in Casual Wear

Years ago, I was convinced that any man who wore sweatpants, or draw-string shorts, or any garment other than pants with a proper belt, was deficient in defensive tools, as well as character.  Yes, a rather critical opinion.  I even said as much in an article I wrote for Concealed Nation back then, lambasting the grown men who wore sweatpants to the mall.  Well, times have changed. 

Now, in my own defense, back then wearing such casual clothing was a conclusive sign that you were not armed.  How would one carry a gun in any sort of pants or shorts with only a draw string?  There was no widely used tool to facilitate that at the time.  To my mind in those ancient times, wearing sweatpants to the mall was as bad as wearing pajamas to school.   

I will share with you my personal story of how I changed my opinion and adopted a lifestyle of wearing casual clothing quite regularly, as you may find this useful if you wish to dress more casually and comfortably, yet still be armed at all times.  Here we go:

My very strong opposition to casual clothing changed dramatically during the VID virus lockdown.  I worked remotely, from home, for a year and a half.  The extent of leaving the house for most of that time was to walk around the neighborhood.  I very quickly found myself never putting on pants with a belt, because why bother?  Ever since, I am rather ashamed to say, I spend a lot of time in “casual wear.”  In the winter I often wear sweatpants, and in the summer I often wear draw-string shorts.  But, I am always armed when doing so.

Now, first a disclaimer: when going to public places, especially when with family, I wear jeans or some other pants with an actual belt on which I wear my main carry gun, a reload, and all my other carry gear.  So, to be clear, I am not walking around the mall with my family with sweatpants on (not that there is anything wrong with that).  But, around the neighborhood, walking the dog, taking the kids to the park, even running errands close to home and by myself, I am likely wearing sweatpants or draw-string shorts, and strapped the whole time.

I have never found clipping a holster to only the waist of any draw-string garment acceptable for carry.  No matter how light weight the gun, draw-strings do not provide enough support, at least in my experience.  So, when the VID first set in, I used a regular belly band to carry my revolver so as to stay armed while in beltless clothing.  Up to that point I had been using regular belly bands, with a revolver, as my means of staying armed when wearing formal, tucked-in shirts.  I found even the old school nylon belly bands suitable for that. 

Then the world changed: Phlster invented and released the Enigma.  I acquired one soon after they came out and all bellyband solutions were obsolete.  The Enigma, of course, uses a regular kydex appendix holster of one’s choice to hold the gun, belt free.  The Enigma provides tension against the holster wing, like a belt does, thus drawing the grip of the gun into the body, something no belly band did.

 In a post-Enigma world it is possible to wear even full size auto pistols when in draw-string pants or shorts.  Gone were the days of presuming someone unarmed if dressed casual. 

Still, I favor the small revolver when wearing casual clothing.  A revolver, having no tang and an otherwise rounded profile, is very comfortable to carry pressed against bear skin as compared to an auto.  Therefore, I found that carrying a larger auto loader while dressed casually sort of offset the point of the casual clothing, which is to be comfortable.  So, my long-time deep concealment and backup gun, a Ruger LCR revolver, has proven to be my dedicated Enigma gun.  Again, when going to public places with family, I am wearing a belt and autoloader anyway, but I find my Enigma setup with the LCR perfect for casual wear.  It is what I wear when around the home, in the home, walking the dog, etc… 

I keep a speedloader next to the revolver, also riding on the Enigma, and due to the design of the Enigma faceplate, it adds no bulk at all.  Historically, I would carry speed strips as speedloaders were bulky in the waistband or in a pocket, thus defeating the role of the very concealable small revolver.  With the Enigma, the speedloader adds no bulk, and proves a significantly faster reload than do speed strips.  The Enigma rig, with the revolver and speedloader, is extremely fast to put on and is comfortable enough to wear around the clock. 

While I carry my autoloader AIWB in a belt holster, I don’t use belt-worn AIWB holsters for snub revolvers at all as I find holsters that short tend to tip out of the waistband in that position and compromise concealment.  But with the Enigma I have no such issue, presumably because of the deeper ride depth.  The Enigma conceals the gun and speedloader better than those tools conceal when attached to a belt.  Therefore, even when wearing pants with a belt, if I need the deepest concealment possible, I use the LCR/Enigma combo.  While it serves as my constant carry solution for casual wear, on the other end of the spectrum it is also my solution for formal clothing as shirts tuck over the tools perfectly when in the Enigma. 

It is a brave new world, and if you are wearing any clothing at all, you can be well armed.  I think the Phlster Enigma remains the best tool for staying strapped while not wearing a belt.