A Short History Of Gloves You See At Fashion Shops Online

An old and reclusive art, glove making has been associated with human culture since the time of the caveman. The first gloves resembled crude mittens. As centuries passed, glove making became more of a refined art. Pronounced fingers were stitched in to provide more dexterity and ease of movement. When glove makers' guilds once dominated a society obsessed with a covered hand, today, very few remain. Fewer still are the patterns available for hand-made gloves. Machine-sewn and hand-finished gloves are mostly what you'll now find in fashion shops online.

Gloves are seen in ancient writings, such as Homer's The Odyssey, in which Laertes is said to wear gloves in his garden so he could avoid the brambles. There is some debate over the translation of this text. In The History of Herodotus, written in 440 BC, Herodotus describes how Leotychides was given a bribe in the form of a gauntlet overflowing with silver, which later incriminated him.

As time passed, the complexity and versatility of gloves evolved. Plated gauntlets were dated back as far as the early 14th century. And before that, mail gloves were worn. Some knights were even noted to wear mail gloves under their plated gauntlets for added protection.

Now, if we look into the fashion world, we see a marvelous array of styles. Cloth and leather gauntlets display intricate embroideries. Ladies in the 19th century adored opera gloves. One peculiarity is they tried to fit their hands into gloves a size too small. This forced one's hand to rest in a half cupped position, which is perfect for greeting, but not for kissing. If you have ever experienced wearing a glove that your hands are too big for, imagine what these women had to go through! Buttonhook and powdered alum provided some lubrication. But still, before an opera, determined women would sit for hours, coaxing their hands down into tight little gloves.

A few books remain that provide us with real insights of early gloves. One of the more revered in existence today is Le Gant. The book, while entirely in French, reveals many patterns and reveals a short development and history of the glove. Also included are passages stating the period's social relevance and sexual significance in relation to the glove.

Insulation from the heat or cold, protection from scratches and cuts, in the instigation of duels, for bold or minute fashion statements, gloves have worn many hats, so to speak, throughout history. They continue to be an essentially integral part of many jobs today. Conversely, there has also been a sharp decline in its use as fashion accessories over the past decades. A declining number of girls attend their proms with gloves. Fashion shops online is a fickle thing, and only time will tell the future of the glove.