Stylishly concealing a weapon

Woolrich offers chinos with slits and pockets for a gun. Jennifer Silverberg for The New York Times

Woolrich, a 182-year-old clothing company, describes its new chino pants as an elegant and sturdy fashion statement, with a clean profile and fabric that provides comfort and flexibility.

And they are great for hiding a handgun. The company has added a second pocket behind the traditional front pocket for a weapon. Or, for those who prefer to pack their gun in a holster, it can be tucked inside the stretchable waistband of the $65 pants. The back pockets are also designed to help hide accessories, like a knife.

Several clothing companies are following suit, building businesses around the rise in people with permits to carry concealed weapons. Their ranks in the United States swelled to seven million last year from five million in 2008, partly because of changes to state laws on concealed handguns.

Shawn Thompson, 35, who works at an auto dealership in Kentucky, bought two shirts last month from the Woolrich Elite Concealed Carry line. Both, he wrote on his blog, are a step up from more rugged gear. "I'm not James Bond or nothing, but these look pretty nice," he said. The shirt has a barely discernible side slit with Velcro through which, he said, he can yank his Colt 1911 from his waistband holster.

Carriers of concealed guns say the new options are a departure from the law enforcement and military look, known as "tactical," long favored by gun owners. The latest styles are called "concealed carry" or "covert fashion."

"What we've tried to do is create a collection of garments that allows the end user to have stylish lifestyle apparel but have features in the garment that enable them to carry a weapon and draw the weapon quickly," said David Hagler, a vice president at 5.11 Tactical, which makes clothing for soldiers and police officers.

The company's growing concealed-carry line includes a lightweight water-resistant vest coming this fall - the sort of vest that is standard and trendy at any mainstream outdoor shop but has strategic pockets for guns. It also includes a stealth compartment in front so the wearer can appear to be warming his hands while actually gripping a pistol in a waistband holster.

Gun experts suggest that there are many reasons for the growth in the number of people with concealed-carry permits. They say it is partly due to a changing political and economic climate, and state laws certainly have made a difference.

After a campaign by gun rights advocates, 37 American states now have "shall issue" statutes that require them to provide concealed-carry permits if an applicant meets legal requirements, like not being a felon. (A handful of other states allow the concealed carrying of handguns without a permit). In 1984 only 8 states had such statutes, and 15 did not allow handgun carrying at all.

The clothing lines address a perceived need in the concealed-carry subculture. Gun owners say they want to practice "maximum uncertainty," meaning that if a gun is sufficiently concealed, a potential criminal will be unsure whether to attack. Gun experts say the research is inconclusive about whether such tactics reduce crime.

Howard Walter, 61, a salesman at Wade's Eastside Guns in Bellevue, Washington, said he preferred to carry his Colt in a durable pair of work pants. Really, he said, the most important thing in picking clothing is to choose something that works for the weapon. "They should dress for the gun," he said he advised his customers. "Not for the fashion."