Dressing Casual During A Shtf Situation...am I Right On This?

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by learningsurvivor, Aug 2, 2012.


  1. OK. So most of the clothes I wear on a day to day basis are casual. I do own a couple of suits for church and for times when I have to go into an office. I don't own any camo gear because I can't afford it. I like to wear a lot of carpenter jeans and T Shirts. Most of my jeans are kind of average looking and my t shirts are not name brand, just one solid color for the most part (I also have a couple of shirts that have the name of a well liked college football team in this area as well, half the state wears it). I like to wear some basic boots (not military boots) too.

    Most of my clothes are not worn out, but they look well used. I like wearing sometimes well worn hats as well (worn out from working in the yard). People seem to kind of overlook me when they see me in stores and malls because I look just average. I used to be bothered by this, but then I started thinking as a prepper.

    Maybe my well worn clothing is a positive thing? If I was in a bad situation while being in a public environment, I could probably walk right on out, get home or to my car (which is 10 years old and looks beat up, but runs good) and not be noticed, just seen as another person trying to get away? Maybe I'll be seen less as a target because I don't look like I have much and I'm not wearing anything flashy? Thoughts?
     
  2. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    do a search for "survival" and "gray man." The idea is that you don't want to be noticeable, even when you're with many people. It's the same reason fish swim in schools...if they look like every other fish, the predator cannot key in on one fish; but, if they look different...noticeable, it draws the predator's eye.
     
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  3. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    Be unique... just like everyone else. ;)
     
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  4. TwoCrows

    TwoCrows Monkey++

    Camo attracts attention, when out of place i.e. you are in town.
    Earth colors do not.
    Think Dockers and Carhartts.

    You are on the right track, far better to have a beat-up looking car that runs really good, a new car will attract thieves.

    The average person should forget you as soon as you are out of their sight, but the predatory sorts should notice from your situational awareness and attitude that you are not an unaware sheep.
     
  5. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Depends on where you are. Here, near the FSU campus, wearing a hoodie, shorts and flip-flops blends into the crowd, summer or winter. In some parts of town, you blend in wearing a T-shirt and having your pants down below your arse proudly showing off your undies..... :D
    Uptown, a suit or nice shirt and pants insure you are unnoticed.
    West of town, where I live, mismatched hunting camo is virtually the required 'uniform' of the well-dressed bubba,and dressing otherwise gets you noticed. [winkthumb]
     
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  6. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I agree learningsurvivor. Being unremarkable has a lot of value in this world. I want to live anonymously and am pretty good at it. I'm a non-descript person who's most noticeable feature is hair that started turning white when I was very young.
     
  7. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    Stealth, subterfuge and camouflage will be your friends. You can blend in and look like everyone else. That is find as long as you mimic mannerisms and the like. Slaves barely ever met the eyes of their masters, so anyone passing themselves off as a slave wouldn't look into the masters eyes. Simple things like that. Small things give you away. Devil's in the details. Now, if you had a predator suit, then you could be invisible to a point. Though I'm sure none of us have that. Next idea is to think of the most 'invisible' set in America. I'm thinking ragtag homeless. The only time anyone notices the homeless is when they beg you for change. Smurfs would be too snobbish to notice them, even if they carried backpacks or pushed along crazy contraptions of shopping buggies that look like a Macy's day float. Something to think about. The outside covering can hide wonderful surprises.
     
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  8. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Just remember the Tactical Wheelbarrow.... when you are looking like a Homeless Ninja Warrior....biglaff
     
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  9. TwoCrows

    TwoCrows Monkey++

    Tactical shopping cart.
     
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  10. PAGUY

    PAGUY Monkey

    Seawolf has a very valid point that I think many are missing or are not communicating well. Depending on where you are at when "it" happens you should fit in there. If you were in a farming community in Iowa I wouldn't push the "bum" look too much. A blue collar worker theme would work better in Clairton, Pa then it would in Bel Air,Md.
    As you move through an area change your look as needed. A backpacker with a hi tech back pack, shorts, a t shirt, and hiking boots is great along the Appalachian trail but, in Manhattan it would not do the job.


    Improvise, Adapt, Modify, and Overcome. FTM/PTB
     
  11. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    http://rethinksurvival.com/posts/18-ways-stand-out/

    18 Ways You Will Stand Out (and what to do about it)



    18. Your face is shaved and hair is well trimmed / groomed (remedy: don’t shave at all or consider a fake beard).
    17. You smell good or, at least, don’t smell bad from a lack of bathing and deodorant (remedy: don’t bathe for a few days prior to going out or make yourself smelly by working up a sweat and purposely getting dirty outside).
    16. Your clothes appear washed and in good repair (remedy: purposely keep old, raggedy clothing around and don’t wash them… ever!).
    15. Your nails are trimmed and hands are clean (remedy: don’t keep your nails meticulously trimmed post-disaster but I woldn’t go overboard).
    14. Your glasses are in good repair, if applicable (reremedy: keep an old/broken pair that you would have thrown out for use specifically when interacting post-disaster and/or keep contacts and solution to hide the fact you normally wear glasses).
    13. You have nice gear and tools (remedy: again, keep old, rusty, beat-up gear around that others may see and hide the good stuff, remembering to return it there after use).
    12. You have a nice garden, fruit trees, berry bushes, etc (remedy: I would still want my garden, though you could practice container gardening and sprouting indoors).
    11. Your neighborhood and house look like fort knox (remedy: consider less obvious security measures such as monitoring devices, upgrades to the house such as beefing up your doors and windows, internal obstacles, etc – my “home security and defense” eBook may prove useful here).
    10. You still look healthy and well fed instead of anemic (remedy: hmmmm…. maybe learn a bit of acting and/or a few make-up artist skills to make yourself look “worse” off; don’t underestimate the power these skills can have).
    9. Your house is lit up like a Christmas tree (remedy: practice OPSEC and light discipline with blackout curtains, subdued lights, walkarounds, etc).
    8. Noise from power tools/machinery emanate from your property (remedy: some noise is unavoidable but you may consider hand tools in some instances, time of day you use tools, how long they’re used, intermittent use, and so on).
    7. Smells from cooking drift for miles and attract nearby two-legged predators (remedy: avoid cooking over open fires, prepare foods that only need re-hydrated, use a solar oven, use ideas like the wonder box or thermos cooking to finish meals).
    6. Trash is piling up in your yard (remedy: recycle, reuse, bury it, compost, feed scraps to pets, etc).
    5. You have all your teeth (remedy: don’t have any advice for this one except maybe something to discolor them temporarily).
    4. Smells from bathroom activities are obvious (remedy: bury it very well and often, use lime or something similar to mask the smell).
    3. Smoke is billowing from your chimney indicating you’re toasty inside (remedy: learn passive heating techniques, bundle up first, huddle up with family, etc).
    2. Your yard looks tidy and well-kept (remedy: don’t mow the lawn, clean anything outside, repair unnecessary structures; scatter useless supplies around the yard, break an unnecessary window, graffiti).
    1. You’re still alive! (remedy: there’s only one that I’m aware of and I’m not taking that option).
     
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  12. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    Forgot about the tacticool wheelbarrow. Might have to add armor plating to that buggy. Lol.
     
  13. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

  14. PAGUY

    PAGUY Monkey

    Keeping low key is one thing but, do destroying your resources is not good advise. Used but not abused. Blend in with the norm for your area. Just my two cents from my time "blending in and looking around in far off lands".


    Improvise, Adapt, Modify, and Overcome. FTM/PTB
     
  15. TwoCrows

    TwoCrows Monkey++

    Don't destroy what you have, buy some used clothing at thrift stores then use them for chores, yard work, etc.

    Keep them in a trash bag when not using them.
     
    PAGUY likes this.
  16. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    I'll be sporting my well seasoned black hoodie...That's how i roll...
     
  17. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Just look at my Avatar .... I am dressed like an Alaskan Bum.... Hide in plain sight....
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  18. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    Is that really you B.T. ?
     
  19. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Yep, that was really "Me" about 10 years ago...... I am under 300# now, so just slightly slimmer dude, these days....
     
  20. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Jeez. All this time we thought it was a traveling rabbi.
     
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