The Best Concealed Weapon Clothing

I was thinking that we author a lot of articles about the many uses for Hawaiian shirts such as something to wear at a Luau, clothing to pack for a trip to an island paradise such as Hawaiian or Fiji.

So in this edition we are veering off the beaten path and writing about a use that you may not have thought of, wearing colorful Hawaiian to conceal your permitted everyday carry handgun. Anyone that carries a firearm for personal protection knows that there are a ton of specialized garments specifically designed for permitted firearm carry available on the internet and in gun stores, some are made with built in elastic holsters, some with added shoulder reinforcement to support the additional weight and more.

I am not going to get into which is best method to carry or if who should or should not have the constitutional right to do so (because this is just not what this article is about), but there are a huge number of men that carry with a inside the waistband holster as well as those that also conceal carry with a outside the waistband holster.

But don't confuse open carry with concealed outside the waistband carry, if it covered, its concealed. If your unsure which is which and which method is legal and what is not in your state, please review the handgun laws and requirements for your state.

So what makes mens Hawaiian shirts so well suited for this you ask? Well for starters the Hawaiian shirts are usually cut longer than most pullover shirts and they tend to have a very loose fit, which is important because the whole premise behind concealed carry is the element of surprise and easy access to your firearm. A overly tight fitting shirt will tend to hug every nook and cranny of your torso, including the firearm you are carrying, this is often referred to as "imprinting".

With a loose fitting Hawaiian shirt you can be reasonably certain that imprinting will not occur. As an added bonus, most Hawaiian shirts contain a allover design, often with multiple colors that almost act as a form of camouflage, which further reduces the chance of imprinting. Even if your concealed carry is outside the waistband as pictured.

But lets not forget about the ladies. Marksmanship and self protection is huge popular with the ladies. There are more deadeye women shooters than you can ever imagine.

The amount of concealed carry clothing available to the ladies is mind boggling. Women also have the advantage of being able to carry in quite a few additional areas of the body that are not afforded to the males.

They can carry in their belt line as well as in specially made bras and boxer shorts and a wide array of other specialized undergarments. Which brings us to non-fitted womens Hawaiian shirts which offer a looser fit compared to a fitted shirt as many womens shirts are.

Remember the element of surprise is lost once your firearm is visible due to imprinting or lack of material to adequately cover the firearm.

The Muumuu

 I sell a lot of muumuus in my Hawaiian shirt store they seem to be a staple for the elderly and in fact I have had so many women come into the store looking for tropical dresses in younger styles because they say Muumuu’s are for Grandmothers. So I started stocking younger looking dresses for women who didn’t want to buy a muumuu.

One of our new styles is very popular it had straps for the shoulders, elastic in the upper back and a flounced hemline that falls slightly above the knee so it is a really good dress for a summery day or a luau or it can be worn to work along with a jacket for a more professional look. I just kind of assumed no young women would want to be seen in a muumuu however I was in for a surprise the following week.

A beautiful young girl in her twenties came to my store looking for a party dress for a luau. I saw her looking in the muumuu section and referred her to the tropical dresses more fitting for her age but she said she wanted to dress respectfully for her Grandfather and would prefer a more traditional look. I thought that was such a beautiful sentiment to want to please her Grandfather with a modest look so she tried on our Mid-Calf Navy Muumuu and it looked great on her. She was happy this muumuu came with 2 pockets so she could have her cell in one pocket and her keys in the other.

She also picked out a beautiful, white plumeria hair clip and a pair of matching earrings to complete her look. I asked her what type of shoes she was going to wear but she said it was a backyard luau and shoes were optional, but most of the family would be barefoot including her Grandfather.  She was such a pleasant young lady and she will look fabulous at her Grandfathers luau.

Hawaiian Shirts and Levis…

Recently I have noticed a lot of guys are wearing some really moderate prints and they pair them with Levis while some guys are wearing shirts that I consider a little gaudy. The truth is some guys want to wear the gaudiest shirts they can find. The definition of the word Gaudy is as follows: ostentatiously or tastelessly ornamented. Does this even bother you to think that someone thinks your shirt is Gaudy? My hubs definitely tries to find shirts that I would consider Gaudy personally I think he does it just to bother me.

One of the ugliest, gaudiest shirts we sell here at the Wave Shoppe is our Ugly Hawaiian shirt where every piece of the shirt is made from a different colored remnant. It is appropriately named the Ugly Shirt and is currently our number one selling shirt.

I myself like to see a guy in a nice pair of jeans and a shirt that casually matches the jeans so two of my favorite shirts at the Wave Shoppe are the white/blue hibiscus shirt (white background with beautiful blue hibiscus flowers) and the blue pineapple paradise Hawaiian shirt (tranquil mix of blues with leafs, pineapples and other patterns and both of these shirt go great with blue jeans.

So if you are dressing for a casual date night with your girl or your wife I suggest you try the tranquil shirt or if it is a night out with the guys then by all means wear the Ugly shirt.

The men's Hawaiian shirts with the Wave Shoppe label sold on www.waveshoppe.com are available in men's sizes small up to 5X. Many of the shirts are also available in women's cuts and select dresses such as muumuus and long tank dresses.