I ask because there's a fashion trend my wife says would look great on me. JCrew is offering Tie Belts -- Old school repp tie stripe belt.

This sort of belt is not the thick leather bluejeans belt on which I am used to hanging my cell phone, SureFire E2e, Vic SwissChamp, and numerous other pieces of gear.

The tie belt is simply not going to support any appreciable weight being attached to it. I am playing around with redistributing my belt gear.

Meanwhile, how do you folks who go without belts, perhaps in warmer weather, carry gear that would normally ride on a belt?

-- Craig

Vest, shoulder bag, fanny/waist pack. Pants cargo pockets, necklace.

Dave

that fashion trend looks to be over since the Jcrew link shows it much reduced -- I don't think I would worry about it

"Trend" was an inappropriate word to use. I should recast the sentence and say something more like, my Better Half thinks I would look great wearing this style of belt.

The tie belt is more of a warm weather belt and is being discounted to make way for the incoming fall styles. For those of you who don't wear belts, where do you carry gear that might normally live on your belt?

-- Craig

I have gotten rid of any clothing that doesn't have belt loops and wear a belt with everything now.

Excellent suggestions. Let's add a wrinkle, shall we? In addition to beltless, let's throw in a sportcoat, too, for a dressier look.

That rules out a waist pack and may well rule out a vest -- a loaded and buldging one, anyway. Tuck the necklace inside your shirt and you're good to go. The shoulder bag can stay.

Cargo pants are out. Don't own any. My Better Half doesn't like them. Besides, they just don't contribute toward a dressy look.

-- Craig

If you want a dress jacket that you can load up with discreetly carried essentials, look at the Tilley Travel Jacket

Lots of hidden pockets, including an "ultra-secret" one whose location is revealed only after you buy it.

I'm glad I'm single, don't have to dress to impress -- and if I went beltless, my pants would fall down

Wow from $35 to $10 in such a short time... I'm thinking not too many people are jumping on this trend. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Anyway... I rarely hook anything on to my belt. I carry my EDC as follows:

LF = Blackberry
RF = Very Small Wallet, Keys, Large Sebenza, Mini Bic, Photon II

Craig, unless I have you confused with someone else don't you carry all your gear in your "man purse" already anyway? <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Nobody else is saying it, so I will.

Maybe you should re-evaluate your priorities. Which is more important, your EDC gear or some fashion points? We're not talking about situations like a job where you're forced into a certain dresscode, right?

Note the name of this site. It's "Equipped to Survive", not "Equipped when it's Convenient".

Really, I'm not flaming you, it's just that perhaps you should have a heart-to-heart conversation with your wife.

The Galco bellyband is an excellent option for times when shorts & a T-shirt is required, even if you dont' use it for a firearm. Works great under a lightly bloused dress shirt, too. Highest quality bellyband I've ever seen:

I use a Woolrich vest with plenty of pockets.

Your point is well-taken. I do this kind of thing as a practice run so I don't panic when I have to put on the dress suit and tie.

I want it both ways. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I want to have my cake and eat it, too.

I want to be equipped to survive AND look great at the same time.

James Bond does it all the time. Why can't I? <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I think it just takes extra thought, the kind of creative thinking outside the box you folks are so good at.

-- Craig

Cool. Thank you.

<img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />
Nice to know you wear the pants in the family, just too bad she picks them out! LOL!!
Hey just having fun with you I well know how it is. My EDC is mostly if not exclusively in my pockets. When I dress up I have lots more pockets to work with. That being said I am very rarely with out a belt usually a nice leather Dillon, Wilderness Frequent Flyer or Instructor Belt.
I usually have a bag around close to hand as well. Even dressed up you can carry many styles of bags and look quite normal. Quick quiz!! What?s in the camera bag?? I did not own a camera till about ten years after I got a camera bag if that will give you a clue.

Got news for you: I don't wear the pants. Our cat does. He wears the pants. He rules the roost and makes the rules. I don't even have any pants. My cat took them away from me. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

That little routine KILLS at Christmas parties. Try it sometime. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

-- Craig

No worries. It took me 27 years to find the right woman. Then I made a good thing better by marrying her. She is allowed to pick out my pants. Having a woman -- especially one's wife -- interested in one's pants, especially after nearly 14 years of marriage, is a GOOD thing. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> That's how I look at it. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

-- Craig

I got dropped on my head as a child. Fortunately the only thing that got bent up was my sense of humor. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

When beltless, I put my pants back on. I've seen too many instances where folks have lost their drawers in water rescues because they had no belt. That won't happen to me - I always have a belt...

M

nicely said ...... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I don't always wear a belt, so I routinely carry items in my pockets. (I admit that I carry much less than many folks here, though.)

When I lived in FL I used the "belly band" and similar devices to carry a small SIG .380. (It's tough to conceal anything larger under a T shirt and shorts.) It would definately work for your EDC, but it's not very comfortable (the word "girdle" comes to mind).

I should also add that I haven't had the "pants falling down" issue, but YMMV.

Another option is to carry less stuff. (Yeah, I hate that option, too.)

Chris: Change this man's screen name to 'slave tofashion.'

Yeah, but gaud they're hot to wear!

That's a good one, too.

Here's another: "Please forgive me, I was hit on the head by an office machine today." I cribbed that from the 1980s TV show "Bosum Buddies."

Problem with that line is, if you don't say it properly, people think you're serious.