Women Finding New Places to Carry their Handguns

Women registering permits to own guns have been increasing for several years. One of the biggest complaints from females is where else can one carry besides the purse. Obviously there are other factors such as the type of pistol, size and comfortability to consider.

Most holsters are design to be carried by their male counterpart. Women are built differently and clothing are different as well. This has led to a booming business for garters, ankle holsters, bra holsters and waistbands. Enter Can Can Concealment LLC out of Florida, they’re here to help ease the pain of wearing a gun for women. Here’s some unique information about them.

How does a nationally known sewing expert, author and costume designer become a successful holster-manufacturing entrepreneur? It happens when you find something you love to do but can’t find the equipment you’d love to do it with. Darlene Cahill, the founder and owner of Can Can Concealment, LLC, got frustrated looking for a holster after completing a four-day home defense course in the Nevada desert.

“I wanted something that was not just utilitarian, but comfortable and pretty,” says Cahill. “Women are tired of hard plastic, all-black, ‘tacticool’ concealed-carry gear that’s not just cumbersome, but downright painful to wear. Most holsters are uncomfortable, unfriendly to a woman’s curves, give me bruises and are just plain ugly! I’ve found many of the holsters that are ‘made for women’ are simply men’s holsters prettied-up in pink Kydex.”

Darlene relied on over four decades of textile-savvy experience to finally settle on “compression holstering” that would offer women a secure carry option with the unforeseen added benefits of being very stealthy and form-flattering as well. “My husband calls it ‘lingerie for a ninja.’”

What’s really taken Cahill by surprise is the demand from law enforcement for the Can Can product.

“When a California district attorney, under threat from drug gangs, ordered our holster, we asked how she’d heard of us. I couldn’t believe it when she said her bodyguard/trainer told her to get ours!”

Since then, Can has been tasked by two police departments to outfit their undercover female officers in specialized holstering that also includes options for handcuffs. Several individual law enforcement agents who enjoy discretionary choice of equipment have purchased their holsters for covert assignments, and orders from officers for off-duty carry are in the hundreds. It’s not bad street cred for a small company that’s a little more than a year old.

Sexy and self defense don’t seem like they should go together, but if you knew Darlene Cahill, you’d understand why it’s a perfect match. She’s been sewing professionally since the age of 13, is an award-winning costume designer, an author, sewing educator and appears regularly on national television. Trained in European tailoring and couture, Cahill’s combined her love of shooting and sewing to produce a remarkably comfortable, stylish and secure line of holsters for women everywhere. According to Darlene, Can Can’s mission statement is simple – to help women protect themselves and the ones they love by providing a secure, comfortable, stylish holstering system that they’ll want to wear every day. Darlene emphasizes, “We believe what’s most important in our holster … is the woman who’s wearing it.”

All Can Can holsters are equipped with multiple pockets to give the user maximum holstering options, and all their designs accommodate from two to four firearms, with additional pockets for spare mags, knives, pepper spray, cell phone or a lipstick. WSJ

Top Four Holsters from Can Can Concealment

The Classic HipHugger features three rows of lingerie-quality hook and eye closure for the perfect “no-snag” fit, military-grade elastic that conforms to a woman’s body, magnetic weapon retention for extra security, hypoallergenic non-slip tacti-grip that keeps the holster in place and patent-pending reholstering tabs.

The Big Shebang “is a hip-hugger style holster designed for full-size service pistols. When women told us they needed something for larger guns, we listened,” company officials say. “It’s been one of our most popular sellers to date.”

The Can Can Corset “is super comfortable and is a very alluring version of the military’s Load Bearing Vest. When I holstered my full-size 1911 in it, I thought I’d dropped my weapon. The weight is distributed evenly over the torso so it felt like I was carrying nothing at all, and the snug fit gave me a surprising sense of security.”

The Can Can Garter “offers the women who prefer dresses and skirts the choice of left or right, inner or outer thigh carry and the optional garter belt with garter straps turns it into the sexiest drop-leg holster I’ve ever seen. Darlene told me she’s sold several to guys who wear kilts!”

If you need more information on Can Can Concealment go here.
– by Jerry Newton