Dressy Gloves For Men
- By Hendrik Pohl
- Published January 12, 2009
- Advice
- Unrated
Hendrik Pohl
Pohl is a regular author on mens fashion. For more helpful fashion tips visit Pohl's men's fashion blog. He is an expert on formal dress code for men and is also the author of "Dress Code Tips For Men". He has a passion for fine Italian Silk Ties which convinced him to open his own tie store.
View all articles by Hendrik Pohl
Winter is the best and perhaps the only season to go out wearing a great pair of gloves. While you may think of them as small accessories, they can go a long way in making you look more stylish and elegant. So before you put on a pair of skiing gloves that will only get you style points on the slopes, here’s a short guide on how to make yourself more debonair with a pair of appropriate dress gloves.
Gloves Inside Out
Most gloves are made of two layers – a durable exterior material and a softer, more skin-friendly lining on the inside. Although you will find that a majority of gloves being sold by retailers are made from varying fabrics like cotton or wool, the best ones are actually made from animal skins. Peccary pigskin, which comes from wild boars native to South America, is a particular favorite for the exterior of dress gloves.
Dressing with style and keeping your hands nice and toasty are two different jobs altogether. That’s why the inner lining is always made of a gentler material. The finest gloves often have cashmere lining which makes for a warm and non-itchy interior. Cashmere-lined gloves, however, are very pricey. Cashmere blends (look for a minimum of 30% cashmere) or polyester blends are some of the more affordable options you’ll see on the market.
There’s no single rule for determining the ‘best’ glove, except for picking the one that feels most comfortably on your hands. The weather and temperature in your area should be one of the biggest determining factors for the kind of glove you’ll eventually get. Some materials are warmer than others, and you don’t really want to be stuck with too-warm gloves that you have to keep taking off.
Color On Your Hands
Gloves come in a range of colors not unlike the variety you’d find with shoes and belts. Black, white and different shades of brown are some of the more common shades of gloves you’ll find being sold by retailers.
In fashion, the rule of thumb for including gloves in your outfit is to match it to your accessories. That is, pair those black wingtips with a pair of black gloves to create a minimalist look. Brown shoes go with brown gloves for a more traditional English effect. If
you can’t pair your shoes or belt with your glove, then at least pair your gloves to your coat. That creates a continuous line of color to keep things from clashing too much.
Sizing Them Up
Every fashionable male knows that the most important thing about any glove isn’t really the color; it’s the fit. Nothing beats a pair of gloves that simply fit well and that’s why it is important to go to the store and try the gloves on yourself so that you can see the fit firsthand. If you are snowed in or are simply too lazy to go out and face the cold, here’s a quick primer on sizing your hands so you can go shop for gloves online.
Open your hand and measure the distance between the tip of your middle finger and your wrist. This will be the measurement for the length of your hands. To find the width of your hand, wrap the measuring tape around the widest part of your hand, which should be somewhere around the middle. When finding the width, make sure you extend your thumb away so that it is not included in the measurement.
In the United States, XS gloves are measured for hands that are about 6.4 inches long and 6 to 7 inches wide. S gloves fit hands 6.7 inches long and about 8 or 9 inches wide. M and L gloves will fit hands 8 to 9 inches or 9 to 10 inches wide and 7.2 or 7.5 inches long, respectively. XL, the largest standard size, is for hands about 8 inches long and 10 to 11 inches around.
Will you be shopping for gloves in Europe? The Europeans use a slightly different system in that they use metric measurements and a scale of 6 to 11. Size 6 is roughly the European equivalent for XS, while Size 11 is their counterpart for XXL. The other sizes take their respective positions between the extremes.
Proper Glove Love
You have to understand that gloves aren’t just ordinary articles of clothing, especially if they are dress gloves. You should wash them as infrequently as possible and even then using special procedures and chemicals. It’s always a good idea to just entrust your gloves – particularly leather ones – to a dry cleaner with a specialty in haberdashery.
Protect your leather gloves just like you would your leather wallets, bags and shoes. Apply leather protectors and conditioners to extend its life span and improve its durability. Polish your gloves regularly, and store them in a cool, dry and dark place when not in use.
Gloves Inside Out
Most gloves are made of two layers – a durable exterior material and a softer, more skin-friendly lining on the inside. Although you will find that a majority of gloves being sold by retailers are made from varying fabrics like cotton or wool, the best ones are actually made from animal skins. Peccary pigskin, which comes from wild boars native to South America, is a particular favorite for the exterior of dress gloves.
Dressing with style and keeping your hands nice and toasty are two different jobs altogether. That’s why the inner lining is always made of a gentler material. The finest gloves often have cashmere lining which makes for a warm and non-itchy interior. Cashmere-lined gloves, however, are very pricey. Cashmere blends (look for a minimum of 30% cashmere) or polyester blends are some of the more affordable options you’ll see on the market.
There’s no single rule for determining the ‘best’ glove, except for picking the one that feels most comfortably on your hands. The weather and temperature in your area should be one of the biggest determining factors for the kind of glove you’ll eventually get. Some materials are warmer than others, and you don’t really want to be stuck with too-warm gloves that you have to keep taking off.
Color On Your Hands
Gloves come in a range of colors not unlike the variety you’d find with shoes and belts. Black, white and different shades of brown are some of the more common shades of gloves you’ll find being sold by retailers.
In fashion, the rule of thumb for including gloves in your outfit is to match it to your accessories. That is, pair those black wingtips with a pair of black gloves to create a minimalist look. Brown shoes go with brown gloves for a more traditional English effect. If
Sizing Them Up
Every fashionable male knows that the most important thing about any glove isn’t really the color; it’s the fit. Nothing beats a pair of gloves that simply fit well and that’s why it is important to go to the store and try the gloves on yourself so that you can see the fit firsthand. If you are snowed in or are simply too lazy to go out and face the cold, here’s a quick primer on sizing your hands so you can go shop for gloves online.
Open your hand and measure the distance between the tip of your middle finger and your wrist. This will be the measurement for the length of your hands. To find the width of your hand, wrap the measuring tape around the widest part of your hand, which should be somewhere around the middle. When finding the width, make sure you extend your thumb away so that it is not included in the measurement.
In the United States, XS gloves are measured for hands that are about 6.4 inches long and 6 to 7 inches wide. S gloves fit hands 6.7 inches long and about 8 or 9 inches wide. M and L gloves will fit hands 8 to 9 inches or 9 to 10 inches wide and 7.2 or 7.5 inches long, respectively. XL, the largest standard size, is for hands about 8 inches long and 10 to 11 inches around.
Will you be shopping for gloves in Europe? The Europeans use a slightly different system in that they use metric measurements and a scale of 6 to 11. Size 6 is roughly the European equivalent for XS, while Size 11 is their counterpart for XXL. The other sizes take their respective positions between the extremes.
Proper Glove Love
You have to understand that gloves aren’t just ordinary articles of clothing, especially if they are dress gloves. You should wash them as infrequently as possible and even then using special procedures and chemicals. It’s always a good idea to just entrust your gloves – particularly leather ones – to a dry cleaner with a specialty in haberdashery.
Protect your leather gloves just like you would your leather wallets, bags and shoes. Apply leather protectors and conditioners to extend its life span and improve its durability. Polish your gloves regularly, and store them in a cool, dry and dark place when not in use.