Being Armed and Chic in the United States!

Clothing manufacturers are launching “elegant” lines, designed for carrying your handgun in complete discretion.

It’s a real problem. Until now, it was virtually impossible to be both stylish and armed. If you wanted to go out to dinner with your Magnum, you either had to wear a shirt three times your size in order to hide the bump from the gun or a jacket with multiple pockets in the style of a military commando, not very becoming.

Fortunately, manufacturers have created a new fashion. For some time now, they have been launching so-called “elegant” collections, designed for carrying one’s favorite pistol in complete discretion without bunching up or creating disgraceful creases. It’s not so simple. First of all, the weapon needs to be invisible in order to avoid run-ins with the police, but also to raise the “deterrent effect,” gun carriers say. In fact, possible assailants are more likely to hesitate about attacking if they don’t know whether or not you’re armed. But you also need to be able to draw quickly without having to undo 15 buttons or three zippers! So, manufacturers thought up all sorts of systems: Pockets camouflaged with snap buttons, Velcro magnets and so on.

It’s a big market. Weapon sales are literally exploding in the United States; it’s one of the rare markets to be unaffected by the recession. The number of Americans holding a permit allowing them to carry a concealed weapon went from 5 million to 7 million between 2008 and 2011. This stems from the fact that more and more states, 37 to date, have passed laws allowing the carrying of weapons in public places, including bars and nightclubs, under the condition that they stay hidden on their owner’s person.

Chicer than Rambo

Woolrich, a brand specializing in outdoor and leisure clothing, launched a line called Elite Series Tactical in 2010. It includes pleated pants with a second zipper pocket concealed behind the first; they have an adjustable size allowing for a gun holster. Woolrich also offers a jacket full of secret pockets and plaid shirts. One model closes at the bottom with two Velcro strips hidden by a line of fake buttons, allowing it to be opened at once with “quick access” to the weapon held in the belt, its website explains. Another has a pocket on the chest closed by magnets that can be easily pulled apart in case of emergency to grab the Colt placed in the holster under the shoulder.

Another manufacturer, 5.11 Tactical, sells 18-pocketed vests, including some that are especially designed for holding a gun. The sports brand Under Armour is going to launch a jacket and shirt with Velcro pockets, according to the New York Times. Shawn Thompson, a blogger from Kentucky who is passionate about firearms, is ecstatic about his Woolrich shirts. “Most of the clothes I used in the past to hide my sidearm looked pretty sloppy and had my girlfriend complaining about my looks… I’m not James Bond or nothing, but these look pretty nice,” he proclaims with pictures as evidence. It’s certainly not James Bond, but it’s chicer than Rambo in any case.