By JeanAnn Taylor

Once upon a time, a lady would never, ever consider leaving her home without first slipping on a pair of outfit-matching gloves. In fact, no outfit was complete without a lovely pair of this essential fashion accessory. Sadly, while gloves will always be practical, stylish, and elegant, fashion gloves have lost favor in our casual-obsessed, fast-fashion, contemporary-styled world.

Gloves have a history that dates back to centuries ago, and they have been worn for many reasons: protection, communication, religious ceremonies, and to symbolize social status. Most recently, they were at the height of fashion during the 1950s when women were focused on feminine style. Wearing white gloves was always an option, but women who wanted to look ultra-fashionable chose gloves to match the color of their outfit. Glove etiquette was also important and taught to young girls by their mothers as well as in home economics classes in high school. Girls were taught when to wear gloves, when to take them off, and what to do when eating or shaking hands. Tip: A lady never takes off her gloves to shake hands unless meeting the President, First Lady, or high-ranking church or government official. You may take them off for dancing as it is more intimate to touch your partner’s hand. Now you know.

The general rule for fashion gloves is that the shorter your sleeves, the longer your gloves. Long gloves look elegant with strapless gowns, while short gloves look best with long sleeves. Types of fashion gloves include:

Wrist length gloves, sometimes called shorties, hit at or slightly above the wrist bone. This glove is considered more casual and appropriate for daytime wear.

Gauntlet gloves are dramatic with their turned-up cuff pointing outward. They may be wrist length or go part way up the forearm. The cuff is often made from a different material or color from the finger portion of the glove.

Classic, sometimes called bracelet gloves, hit mid-way on the forearm. They often have ruching, which allows the wearer to shorten or lengthen the glove as desired.

Elbow length gloves hit at the elbow and are most often worn for evening events.

Evening or opera gloves are a more formal style of elbow gloves. They often feature embroidery or a row of small buttons.

Although gloves are no longer a fashion must, or come with strict fashion rules, they do remain a practical wintertime accessory. Gloves keep our hands warm and protected from the elements of winter and most of us own a pair or two. Modern gloves can be made from materials that insulate and keep hands dry; some gloves even have heating elements

A current popular style is the fingerless glove. You may think this smart invention was designed for texting; however, fingerless gloves date back to the early Romans and Greeks. Remember, homes were not as warm and cozy as they are now, so wearing gloves inside allowed women to continue working on projects such as embroidery and other hand-stitching. These fingerless gloves also allowed them to show off their flashy rings.

Gloves come in many varieties of materials including leather, silk, satin, wool, acrylic, plastic, and lace. You can find gloves specifically designed for sports, driving, gardening, cooking, or dishwashing. There are practical gloves with flaps to cover and uncover fingers and fancy gloves with embroidery, and beadwork. I keep a pair of “gas-pump” gloves in my car to protect my hands while pumping gas. Although gloves are not all the rage they once were, they will always be functional and fashionable.

Style expert JeanAnn Taylor can be reached
at [email protected]