I've been wearing a Bulldog belly band for a couple of weeks now. It conceals better than a Smart Carry for the way I carry, especially since women's business attire tends toward lightweight fabrics.

I'd like to see some improvements though.
1) I'd like a sturdier set of closures, maybe very robust hook and eye closures, and set at an angle to accomodate hips. Because hip bulges are easier to explain away as last month's ribs, ice cream and poundcake than are bulges almost anywhere else.
2) I'd like the pocket to hold the gun at a bit of an angle, rather than vertical, and offer better stability. This would be a plus for anyone carrying a gun with a safety that might be switched on or off with too much motion. And I want it to do so without creating angles that would give away that it's not just me under my clothes.
3) I'd like the band to resist crawl. Mine likes to sneak from 4 o'clock to 3 o'clock.
4) I'd like the band to resist deforming.

I'm thinking I may need to take a page from the corset maker's book. Thoughts?

You're on the right track, but moving toward a custom-fit garment, not the nearly one-size-fits-all solution current belly bands provide. I also think such an individual fit is worthwhile.

I've got a belly band holster I almost never use. It's about 6" wide and made of neoprene. It holds a gun horizontally, either inverted or right-side up depending on how you put it on. It's held in place by about a 6" diameter circle of velcro and because of the outer covering, it is almost infinitely adjustable.

Problems:
1) it gets really hot in the summer
2) access to the gun is slow
3) the gun is secured by a velcro retention strap, but depending on where you position it, it still feels floppy sometimes.
4) if you sweat, it holds the moisture against your gun

My beefs with a belly band are:

The 'hook' part of the velcro is pointed in, so it scratches. I'd like the loop part of the velcro pointed in, because it is softer and less itchy than the 'hook'.

I'd like to see the band part 2 layers, to help stabilize everything and prevent the spandex from rolling up sometimes, prevent deforming.

for absolute comfort= skin, undershirt, bellyband, overshirt.

So the bb conceals better??

.

Andrew, I think you're right. The more ideas I have the less it sounds like a belly band and the more it sounds like a custom fit holster with integrated support. Not such a bad idea. I wonder what the girls will think of the idea.

Dean, neoprene sounds miserable! I wouldn't wear it much either.
About the slow access problem, where do you wear the bellyband?
SmartCarry has a layer to protect against sweat. It seems quite thin, so I think that could easily be incorporated into the gun-holding part of a belly band.

Hoppes9, I've been thinking about the deformation issue. Part of the problem may be addressed with boning such as that found in corsets. On the other hand, corsets were notoriously uncomfortable. I'm hoping that's due mainly to the extreme pressures intentionally inflicted on the body by corset wearers.
Also, I've found that the velcro closure part, being sewn to elastic rather than to a less stretchy fabric, tends to deform.

I'm wondering whether there's an easy way to solve the problem of the hook part of the velcro extending above the loop part and scratching skin or (in the case of velcro with hooks pointed out) snagging clothes.

In your case, can you wear the band inside out? Mine is a dual layer. I think I could wear it that way. In fact, I think I'll test it today.

This is something I have talked over with my wife, as she finds a band to be the most comfortable carry method.

She wears it quite high, so that it doesn't interfere with sitting or bending. Also, the special girl features do a great job of hiding the outline of a 3-inch J-frame under a semi-loose t-shirt. The only thing that seems to be a bother is the velcro pad.

We were doing a bit of brainstorming, which may lead to some experimentation(she sews). The idea we came up with is replacing velcro with one of the fastener types normally found on bras.

That's a hook and eye closure.

It is worth noting that when properly fitted, the band part of the bra (the part that goes around the ribs) supports about 90% of the weight of the breasts, which can be quite heavy. Heavier than a handgun. It's probably reasonable to assume this type of closure would be able to stand up to quite a bit of strain over a period of time.

Also worth noting is the fact that I have noticed that the hook and bar closures on my dress pants have to be re-sewn about every eight weeks because the flat edge of the metal wears through the thread securing the closure to the garment. So maybe the rounded type of closure is best.

That's one, there are a few variations on the theme.

I thought of that, but I just couldn't write that without making some sort of a joke, and so I decided to leave it alone...

Another thing I thought of is that this would possibly be one of the most secure ways of attaching a gun to a body. I'm sure most guys will attest to just how difficult bra closures can be.

I was actually thinking more of the little buckle type thingy (dammit, I am just not up on the terminology here) that has a flat slot for a ribbon to be run through and then sewn to the garment.

A corset with a hidden gun compartment would be interesting. I'll shut up now, before I dig myself a hole...

I've been watching this topic closely to see what comes of it.
My wife came up with a unique way of carrying, but we are still trying to develop a decent prototype that holds it securely. Basically the gun is at an angle in that natural V underneath...
Um...
Its pretty easily accessible through an untucked shirt...

Well, anyway, she is interested in other women's carry methods as well.

You mean D rings? Or one of those buckles that stays fastened by the pressure of the teeth on the ribbon?

I think a corset set up to support a holster and keep the gun close to the body could be interesting in a "where can I buy one" kind of way. In the interest of facilitating IWB type carry in light weight clothing without belts, I think a corset relative that sits below the natural waist and over the hips could work very well, particularly if there were some good stretch fabric involved...maybe surgical elastic panels?

ttreml3, could you explain that last a bit more? Does she access from the hem of the shirt or from the neckline? Grips up or down? Is she a thin woman or more round? How does she dress when she carries like this: jeans and tee? This is of great technical interest to me.

Nope and nope. Neither of those would be secure enough in my opinion.

Something like this:





One thing that we were thinking was that the whole thing does not need to be elastic. Having fabric panels would go a long way toward breathability and temperature comfort.

WH, that's spooky! Precisely what I was thinking. Love the clasps, btw.

OMG! You are going to make me think I understand women!

The buckles are a. mechanically sound b. nice looking c. low profile.

See, it's all logical.

Dammit, where's that Vulcan smilie?

Naw. You don't understand women. WE don't understand us all the time. But you're considering comfort and function, which in a carry rig is essential.

One of the women at the W&G forum is coming up with some great resources. We're still very much at the brainstorming stage ( a corset holster for dress occasions and a more minimal one for everyday), but it is sounding kind of cool. :

Access under the hem. Business attire, i.e. nice shirt/blouse whatever they call it and slacks (thats the pants that aren't jeans.) She doesn't carry since our idea's stalled out. My Kahr dissappears at an angle with the handle under one and the barrel under the other. She's not overly endowed, it would be less practical for larger cups. We were thinking material similar to sports bra support but still working on the mechanics of the holster itself. Kydex or leather or something else, the elastic holds it in, and she demonstrates the position well, but we stalled out after that.
Draw would involve flashing her midriff nothing more (Heck, and might provide a distraction...)