Jimmy Ireland

Leather Gloves have come a long way

Leather Gloves have come along way; first featured in Homer's The Odyssey as Laertes wore gloves to assess the brambled marsh, but over time they have been used for military protection to fashion and status accessories.

Articles about gloves are few and far between, and articles about men’s leather gloves are even rarer. I am a fairly young chap and own a variety of gloves, from my winter warmers to my specialist shooting gloves and Pittards’ leather batting gloves. I did have a friend at university that owned a lovely pair of Dents black leather gloves, and I despite liking the image it gave him, I was wary about how the gloves would look on me. I have this predetermined image of the stereotypical leather glove wearer, driving a status saloon, listening to radio 4 and driving along country roads back to his manor house. Okay, I may have been manipulated by the image of Alan Partridge playing air drums in a Lexus saloon on route to his Manor House but the stuffy image still remains. What is the difference for men to wear leather gloves in winter as opposed to wearing cotton thinsulate gloves? At the end of the day they serve the same function and we have been wearing them for years after all.

It is believed that the cavemen first conceptualised the glove, wearing pig bladders over their hands like mittens. Gloves are also referenced in Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ as Laertes required some protection to protect from the brambled marsh.  Yet, according to “The History of Gloves” article by JJKent, it is thought that gloves were not worn until the eleventh century as the glove was worn by nobility and decorated with precious stones and gems. The gloves were made out of linen and silk and were predominantly worn by ladies as a fashion statement.

The history of gloves gives fascinating insight into social developments over the past two centuries. The Dictionary of Etiquette, published at the end of the 19th century, says, “Gloves should be worn by a lady when out walking or driving, at tea dances, balls, dinner parties, the opera or theatre. Men should wear gloves in the street or at a ball, when paying a call, driving, riding or in church.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II chose Worcestershire glove makers Dents to supply her with her long gloves for her coronation in 1953. Dents’ was a major exporter of fine gloves and accessories with subsidiary companies in New York, Paris, Prague, Sidney and Naples and seemed the proper choice for HRH.

For a man looking for a leather glove though, it is notoriously hard to get it right. In a society of postmodern men, it is important that the guys too have a blended ensemble with matching accessories. With leather gloves, it is important to get the size and colouring exact as one can quite easily look out of place, and not being able to pull it off.

Article Tags: Leather Gloves

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR