Vancouver Style 101 article features kilt enthusiast Raphael Fang
Raphael has many kilts… traditional wool, a black leather kilt, utili-kilts with pockets, event a denim kilt. I first met him at a Kilts Night event many years ago. A few years later he paddled on the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team. Raphael was there when we did a Vancouver Sun photo about Tartan Day. Here's a story about kilts by Lorelei Burk that interviews Raphael and his love for kilts.
Real men wear kilts
January 11, 2:51 PM
Vancouver Style 101 ExaminerLorelei Burk
Kilts are not just traditional garb to wear at weddings and parades
anymore. They have been coming back in style for years. Many men prefer
to be kilted rather than wear cumbersome pants. Kilts can be elegant at
a formal event or just as easily worn to a concert, club or movie. They
are no longer only made out of wool but are now seen in a variety of
fabrics from denim, canvas and even leather. More and more places are
exclusively making kilts for every day wear like Utilikilts, R-Kilts
and Bear Kilts of Vancouver proving that kilts are not just for Celtic
traditionalist.
Kilts have been around since the 16th century. It originally was
long in length like a tunic and used to keep warm by wrapping it around
you which was known as the great kilt. It’s upper half could be brought
up over the head like a cloak or worn over the shoulder. By the 1700s
they adapted to shorter versions and became less functional and more
traditional as a symbol of national identity. The different parts of a
traditional outfit are; the kilt which is a pleated wool skirt or
tartan which is worn knee-length for men, the Sporran is the pouch worn
in the front of the skirt from the waist which is the pocket that the
wearer can use to carry his things, the Dirk is the small dagger that
is worn in the top of the kilt hose and the hose are the knee-high
socks that are worn with kilts. Although there are people that wear all
the traditional pieces of the kilt, the kilt has become fashionable
with t-shirts and boots and not all the components. What a man wears
under the kilt varies from man to man and also the climate where he is
wearing it. Most men I have interviewed wear nothing under their kilts
except their socks and shoes.
A man should never be afraid to wear a kilt. Every woman that I
have ever interviewed on the subject has told me that she finds a man
much more alluring, interesting and sexy in a kilt then in a pair of
pants. Plus the man in the kilt has already given the woman many ways
to strike up a conversation with him by wearing a topic of great
relevance. Vancouver based Kilt enthusiast, Raphael Fang who has been
wearing kilts since 1996, explains his point of view:
‘Pants are for Pansies!!! I would like to get men to realize
that there is another option. Kilts are not women skirts and it is not
the gateway to cross dressing as some people would think. I also like
to break the stereotype that most people have with kilts. Kilts are not
exclusively for the Scots and any one can wear them. Kilts are just
more fun than pants. We have been wearing pants for too long and it is
time to wear something that is designed better to fit the male anatomy.
This is the perfect time for men to do something different as the
fashion is changing and men can pay attention to things that had been
off limit to us.’ -Raphael
There are many social networks just for the kilted. The first
Thursday of each month Doolin’s Pub in downtown Vancouver usually hosts
a Kilt night where kilt enthusiasts can meet and talk about their love
of the fashion. If you arrive wearing a kilt, you will receive a free
pint of Guinness. You will also meet wonderful people like Raphael, who
is on a mission to kilt the world one kilt at a time, who can introduce
you to new people, other kilted events or just talk about his current
collection of 11 kilts and how he likes to wear them.
‘It is a night for the kilt wearers to meet for drinks and
share stories. It is easy to buy a kilt off a vendor, but for some
people it can be challenging to wear one out in the public for the
first time. Unfortunately, some people need a reason to put on their
kilts and kilts night would be that special night. It will give them
the courage that they need to make the first steps. It is a night to
encourage people to come out with their kilts. People who attend feel
that we are a band of brothers. We make new friends and try to see
whether new people are interested in joining us to be kilt wearers in
the future.’ -Raphael
Men used to be the peacocks of fashion and for the first time in
the past century the tables turned. Now it is time for the men to start
taking back their original nobility and begin dressing more spiritedly.
It’s time to take off your pants and show us your attractive
confidence, your great legs and your charming kilts.