Cover it Up

So, I've been thinking a lot lately about cover garments, and the differences between men and women trying to conceal a gun.

Let's face it, if you're a man, you can probably get away with throwing a wild-ass Hawaiian print shirt over a t-shirt, and you're good. Your wife or girlfriend may sigh, but it's not that big a deal.

Women, on the other hand, have further considerations. I'm not the best fashionista, but even I know that there are times when being baggy and loose may be comfy but probably isn't the best choice. Not to mention, if you're doing it all the time, people start thinking of you as "butch" and that may not be the impression you'd like to send.

I hate being treated like I'm going to break but let's face it there's not much I can do to avoid the delicate look, and the best I can hope for is elegant, which seems to involve lots of long lines and garments that scream "look at me, I have a waist!"

Add in the difficulties posed by women's fashion in concealment in general, and you've got a bit of a pickle.

So, lets address a couple of the problems I've come across and how I get around them. Your mileage may vary.

First, pants. Every woman has that pair of pants that they absolutely adore, the pair that looks good, feels good, and brings a little attitude to her step. Unfortunately that pair of jeans is rarely good for concealing a firearm.

This is one of those moments where you have to compromise. Either you can have the cute outfit that makes you look smokin' hot, or you can carry a gun. Now, I'm not saying that it's impossible to look smokin' hot while stashing a heater, but you have to go about it differently.

Instead of the shirt that just hits the top of your jeans when you reach over your head, you might have to go with something longer. Or instead of the smokin' hot jeans, you might have to go with slightly less hot and more roomy jeans.

Speaking of shirts, it also seems that the t-shirts available (in my size, marketed for my age range, YMMV and do please share in comments because information is a good thing) are leaning towards lightweight and clingy. Not tight, just a light enough material and fitted enough to cling to curves, which is a nice look, but not practical when you're trying to conceal a pistol. I've got one cute top that makes me look like I actually have cleavage (woohoo) and hangs loose and flowy from what I'm told is called an empire waist. The only problem with it is that it apparently looks a bit like a maternity top, but some nights the cleavage is totally worth it.

Personally, when I'm not going somewhere I can't carry, or somewhere that I really don't need to conceal, I like the combination of wranglers, a tank top, and a western shirt tied in front instead of tucked. My gun goes behind my hip, just forward of center over my right butt cheek. The wranglers are just heavy enough to keep the gun inside my waistband from printing obviously, and the bagging of the shirt at the back covers the grip and helps break up the line of the jeans to distract from any printing that might happen anyway.

Another jeans trick that I've heard positive things about but am just not frilly enough to pull off is finding a pair of jeans that has some decorative beading in the area your gun usually rests, or creating your own design. It's a bit counter intuitive because you would think that it would attract the eye to the gun, but the patterning helps blur the outline of the gun, much like camo helps blur the outline of a hunter in the woods. This may be an excellent option if you're a girly girl who would wear that stuff anyway cause it's cute. Unfortunately I'm not one of those people, so this is not an option for me.

It's also tough to remember that what's obvious to you may not be to Joe Blow on the street. Because you know your gun is there and that's what is making that bulge, you're going to see a gun, where Joe Blow may not even see a bulge. Get a second opinion. And a third. Etc. You may wind up saying "drat" a few times over a great look, but you'll start getting an idea of what other people actually see versus what you see because you know what's going on.

Of course, I carry IWB mostly. OWB presents it's own set of problems, since you're not worried about printing so much as actually flashing your gun. Since I don't really carry OWB when I'm not open carrying, I haven't really dealt with those issues much.

So how about it folks, what are your tips and tricks for concealing, and still looking fantastic?

Quotes at Last

Finally sat down and got the winners posted on the sidebar over there, so I'm not quite so much of a bad blogger now. Congrats to the winners!

The Great Hot Sauce Challenge

I got an email this morning from Brent C. the originator of the Great Hot Sauce Challenge, asking me to pimp it one more time... I can do that.

Folks this is a great cause, Brent's 19 year old daughter has stepped up to the plate with him, to melt her face off right beside her dad. There is also an as yet unknown third party involved. Three people will be yelling "Come On Icecream!" In order to help out a guy and his family.

Drop a few bucks in AD's tip jar to boost the effort, there's only 48 hours left. AD is giving away an EMS Monopoly game to the highest donation, and I'll throw in a Blogorado shirt of your choice or one of the upcoming "Minion" buttons.

Let's blow up this fundraiser, and maybe they'll video the challenge and let us share it with ya'll.

Edit To Add: There will be video, and also a live feed at the forum where this all started. You can see the thread about the challenge without signing up, so you'll probably be able to see the feed as well but I don't have confirmation on that. Still, if you have to sign up to see it, why not??

Blown Away

Had a very long night at work and I'm attempting to be somewhat zen about it even though I'm not very good at it. Stress levels are moderately high (I'm not imagining clock towers and rifles yet, but I have fantasized about strangling people) and in an attempt to putter myself into a mental state in which I can sleep, I checked out my sitemeter.

Somehow, even with the extremely sporadic posting and the lack of the stories that I originally started this blog with, I'm still gaining readers, it seems.

Last time I paid much attention I had about a hundred hits per day. I've gained fifty to a hundred more on average since then. Granted this is judging from the last week or so, so some of those might be from the CCM article... I just wonder how many people would go to the trouble to find the blog since the URL wasn't given.

Anyway, welcome new readers, wherever you hail from (and I'm always interested in hearing how folks found my blog, if you care to share) feel free to poke around the archives, especially since the best stuff is in there.

To all of my readers, new and old, thanks for reading. Just looking at that little number made me smile a little tonight, when I really needed it.

Do You Get Concealed Carry Magazine?

If you do, and you read this month's Profile, you might be wondering if you've found the right Tractor Tracks blog. Or you might already be a reader and be wondering if it's the same Farm Family.

Well, the answer to both is yes. That's me, and us. If you got here because of the article, welcome, feel free to poke around, and definitely try Farmmom's recipes.

I would like to say, however, that I don't think I am nearly as awesome as Oleg painted me to be. I'm just me, and I'm willing to grant that I can be kind of awesome, but really, not all that awesome.

Thanks for all the complements to Oleg though, and thanks to CCM for thinking we're cool enough to be in the magazine.

Dreaming of Socks

A chance comment sent me on a search for thigh high socks the other day, and I stumbled across the absolute best site for delightfully oddball socks.

They've got everything. Thigh highs, knee highs, over-the-knee, off beat socks (who doesn't want a pair of knee high socks with faux zippers??) half-socks, toe socks, footies, they've got 'em all.

I'm talking about Sock Dreams.

Of course I ordered a few things. I'm just off beat enough to adore the idea of striped thigh high socks. Plus, all my regular readers know that I am a sucker for warm things, and they looked toasty.

The Ribbed M Stockings are my top pick so far. They're toasty warm and soft and stretchy enough to feel decadent, but snug enough at the tops to stay up on my skinny legs. Plus, they're looong, which is fantastic since I have freakishly long legs, even if they are skinny and toothpick like.

For those of you who are more practical, they also have a selection of sock garters (and you have no idea how hard I looked for those things when someone suggested them to me on this blog ages ago in the comments on the bad calves day post) for very affordable prices.

As for the customer service... well, I did my ordering when I was half asleep. I managed to not only forget a pair of socks that I wanted but to order the wrong size, which would have been disastrous as I don't know anyone I could give black and purple striped thigh high socks to for Christmas.

But, the next morning, they not only shoved the late order in with my other purchases, saving me shipping costs, but fixed the size for me.

They have a real person manning their order email, as well, and from my limited contact with her she seems like a lovely lady (Hi Jess!) which at the least means the people running the company have the sense to put good people in contact with customers, and at best gives me the impression that everyone there is enjoying themselves and loving the job.

All in all, if you are, or know someone who likes offbeat, funky socks, I highly recommend you check out this site. And ladies? I'm informed that the appeal of thigh highs isn't reduced if they're warm comfy socks instead of sheer stockings, so you could always kill two birds with one stone and be sexy and warm.

Mostly warm. Winter in Colorado deserves thick, luxurious, thigh high socks, don't you think?






FCC disclaimer: Sock Dreams didn't do anything to get me to write about their site but be awesome, although if they would like to set up a deal for me to review lovely warm socks this winter, they have my email. Hint, Hint!

Sunday Linky Love

Wanna tease your brain? Head on over to Vine's and check out the riddle he posted. He hasn't got a right answer in comments as of this posting, so give it a whack!

Meanwhile AD is pimping a Charity Challenge for a good cause, go on over and drop a buck or two if you've got it, or continue the pimpage if you don't. I approve of contests that will both provide entertainment for those lucky enough to watch and raise money for someone who really needs it. Cancer is tough on everyone, and treatment is expensive as hell to boot. Let's see if we can get the total donation up into "Oh my god" levels!

Edit: rackfrackingrumblemumblebloggergrowlgrumblemanglelinksmumblegrrr.
Fixed.