OC; the whole package matters?

(How) do you think it matters what you wear and how your general appearance presents yourself when you OC?

I'm guessing that it can be a natural reaction for most folks to look at, for example, these different men OC'ing, differently?

1. In shined shoes, black dress pants, and a pressed, white dress shirt, and a nice dress gun belt...
2. In worn out tennis shoes, ripped jeans, and a rock band's tshirt...
3. In combat boots, old woodland-camo army fatigue pants, and an NRA shirt...
4. In fresh jeans and a neat polo shirt...
5. In jeans with leather chapps and a Harley tshirt, also sporting substantial facial hair and long hair...
6. In jeans and Mossy Oak tshirt and hat...
7. In jeans with lots of rips in them, plain tshirt, lots and lots of tattoos and piercings...
8. Shiny, brand new neon Nike shoes, baggy and saggy jeans, football team tshirt, bandana, and lots of jewelry around his neck...

I'm just wondering - what do YOU wear when YOU carry, and do you think that matters a little, or a lot, or not at all? Just curious about your opinions...

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I have put alot of thought into this... Mainly because of how I look. For awhile I thought that dressing a certain way should be the route to go. But the more I have thought about it the more I have decided to just dress like I normally do. Now with that said I definitely do not look main stream.
I have a Red and Blue Mohawk, a Goatee and beard, I wear mainly "wife beaters" (for a lack of a better term) or shirts with out the sleeves, or often times no shirt at all, as well as Wranglers and my Cowboy boots with a nice belt and belt buckle ( Usually a pro 2A buckle) and of course my Ruger on my right hip . I have tattoos on my arms and chest and I have not taken off my dog tags since I received them in basic training. ( I am out now...otherwise the facial hair and Mohawk would be a no go...LOL) I have decided that it does not matter how you look, just because you dress a certain way or look one way, does not mean that you should or should not be able to exercise your rights. I enjoy the fact the folks have a pre conceived notion about me based off of how I look, and then when they speak to me or they hear me talking that notion is blown completely out of the water. I know alot of folks disagree with me on this point...especially as an OCer. However I see no reason to change what I wear just so I can "exercise" my rights.

The way we dress is our way of non-verbally telling the world what our identity is and even the most 'non-conformist' will conform to the 'uniform' of the average non-conformist.
For better or worse, if you present a clean cut appearance you will be looked at differently than if you are dressed in the latest grunge fashion, were wearing Goth makeup, or are in a hoodie pulled up to cover your features.

We lack bright plumage, we don't have magnificent antlers, no brightly colored baboon posteriors, or a mane, .... so we do what we can to adapt.

Should it have an impact on whether or not someone can exercise their rights? Absolutely not.
No more than a "Roll TIDE!" jersey should prohibit someone from being able to express a political opinion.

I'm a UNIX security admin so at work its dress casual, beard. As soon as I get home I tend to change into tan cargo pants and a nice tshirt, still with the beard and I keep it neatly trimmed and not long, hair is short but not buzzed short. I've never been approached about my OC.

The only thing I change is I tuck in my shirt when I OC and I use it as my cover garment when I CC. I think plenty of people judge by the way you dress, with or without the gun. It's the ones that get beyond that and actually have a conversation with me that are worth the time of day. IMO

More often than not I'm in jeans and a t-shirt with sneakers or boots. Sometimes I'll wear a button up shirt buttoned about half way but that is about as formal as I get.
I do think one is judged based off of how they look. I don't think it should matter but, unfortunately, it does.

old holy t-shirt, plaid boxer shorts, and bare feet... OH and big fat smelly cigar!

On Sundays I strap my gun belt around my tunic, and were sandals.

Since here we can only OC @ home, for now, Im usually just in jeans/t-shirt or whatever I happen to be wearing while working around the house, outside.
BUT- were I to be able to go about my biz in town while OC, yes, I would go out of my way to avoid looking like some kind of dirt-bag, gangsta-wannabe- or Tactical Ted/Mall-ninja with Serpas and vests and such.

Not saying I would dress up in a suit and tie- but , really, there are practical methods of NOT looking like the kind of guy common folks are inclined to call 9-1-1 with MWAG calls, cause cops to pay any more attention to me than those around me, or make a gangsta-wannabe feel inclined to reach into his knee-height waistband for his own piece.

Whether we like it or not, and whether it "should" make any difference or not, it does. When you come down to it, a pre-dominantly OC/Gun-carry hostile society is going to form an opinion of us when they see us-based largely on how we present ourselves. The folks who SHOULD fear us, great- but the public at large? Why create additional hostility/concern/fear etc. no matter how mis-placed?

The great William Frederick Gibbons once said that "every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man."

I have a girl, but I still like to look good most of the time. The way I dress has less to do with OC than personal preference, however I have found that I'm more willing to wear something better than holy jeans and a graphic tee if I'm OCing.

I'm number 7 on the list, I wear what I wear, and don't give a damn what people think. Hell, I've had people say I'm too damned fat to carry a gun.

- In shined shoes, black dress pants, and a pressed, white dress shirt, and a nice dress gun belt...
Mormon missionaries are now carrying?:shocker:

In worn out tennis shoes, ripped jeans, and a rock band's tshirt...
In combat boots, old woodland-camo army fatigue pants, and an NRA shirt...
College video-game geeks and emo kids?

In fresh jeans and a neat polo shirt...
When did Best Buy arm the associates?

In jeans with leather chapps and a Harley tshirt, also sporting substantial facial hair and long hair...
While this demographic is regularly presumed to be armed, they are not regularly presumed to OC. Seeing one OCing marks them as the undercover cop in the crowd.

In jeans and Mossy Oak tshirt and hat...
Depends - is the hat being worn properly, or is it backwards? One is an Olde Phart and the other is some know-nothing kid with a lot to learn about life. Unless both are out hunting.

In jeans with lots of rips in them, plain tshirt, lots and lots of tattoos and piercings...
Finally, college kids get the message!

Shiny, brand new neon Nike shoes, baggy and saggy jeans, football team tshirt, bandana, and lots of jewelry around his neck...
See the comment about the guy in the leathers.

So - was there a point you were trying to make? And thank you for letting me have fun poking holes in your stereotypes.

stay safe.

HeroHog said:

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OMG HH, your shoes do not match your shorts and shirt :shocker:

Watch out for the OC clothing police :uhoh:

Just teasing!

HeroHog said:

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Dude, that's not a "package" - it's a murse!

stay safe.

How about:

8: Jeans, sneakers, casual open collar button up shirt that is designed to be untucked, and whatever belt I feel like

Cuz that's what I usually wear. But really, I'll OC in whatever clothes I'm wearing at the time.

The public image thing has never entered into for me.
I dress for comfort and personal taste. I could not/would not ever change my dress to suit public image.


I have something funny to say along these lines. This is something I heard the other night on radioreference.com where I often listen to the Berkeley county or Jefferson county dispatch. I have tried very hard to remember which of the two counties is was but not 100%, I THINK Berkeley WV.

Anyway this is a summary of how the call went.

Dispatch: Car blah blah, report of two "goth" looking males entering Ryan's on blah blah street with sidearms.

Cop: Clarify, two "goth"?? looking males, with firearms entering Ryan's?

Dispatch: Affirmative.

Cop: What were they doing?

Dispatch: They have entered Ryan's.

Cop: Were they pointing the guns at people or waving them in the air?

Dispatch: Negative. They have firearms in holsters on their side. They are described as goth.

Cop: Did the 911 call describe any crime?

Dispatch: No further information.

Cop: 10-4, en route.

This is a very rough account of what I heard now an exact quote.

I listened for another half hour for anything more about it but didn't hear anything.

I know this is completely unsubstantiated that's why I didn't make a thread about it but it was very cool to hear the cop sounding like he knew OC was not RAS. At least that's the impression I got. Who knows what happened.

What I wear is a consideration, but only because of the types of shirts I would wear. Something tells me that while it isn't right, I would likely have more issues if I were to be wearing a shirt that said "I hear voices...and they don't like you" or "My imaginary friend thinks you have serious issues" and was OCing. And honestly I don't feel like having my shirts (that were typically 9-10+ years old anyways) being the reason for extra scrutiny and being hassled/arrested. There's enough laws out there that I'm sure they could come up with SOMETHING, and if not, they simply claim that they "thought" they were following a law and thus fall under "qualified immunity" after I have beaten the rap...but not the ride.

A person should never wear a tin foil hat while OCing.

Whenever I am O/C I am usually hiking in hiking boots, hiking clothes, and with hiking gear, in the hiking parks and forests.

For all other applications I believe CCW is best.

Shoobee said:

Whenever I am O/C I am usually hiking in hiking boots, hiking clothes, and with hiking gear, in the hiking parks and forests.

For all other applications I believe CCW is best.

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Thank you for sharing. Unless you plan to stay in spite of the question of why you are here if that is your view of things, do be sure to pick up some lovely parting gifts on your way out.

stay safe.