Verity Vintage Studio

The Art of Wearing Gloves - Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of The Art of Wearing Gloves. (Scroll down to read Part One - types of and tips for wearing gloves.) In this post, we'll explore how to date vintage gloves, as well as how to care for and keep them properly.

 

Dating Gloves

Gloves older than the 1930s are hard to find, usually in very small sizes, and generally almost impossible to really wear because of their fragility. 

Pre 1930s gloves.

In this post we will concern ourselves with the 1930s-'60s since any pair of vintage gloves you can find in thrift or antique stores or on the internet, will very likely fall into this broad category. There are immense amounts of wearable vintage gloves available to someone who enjoys them. Sometimes they are stained, or the stitching is brittle, but it is not unusual to find a pair of new old stock – stuffed in a warehouse or basement for half a century – and still brand new, never worn, with a thread holding the pair together. This doesn't mean they'll be perfect, since rust, fading, and moths can still get to them. But if in nice shape, they will never have been worn.

One of my pairs of still new gloves never had the thread holding them together broken.

 

These are just general guidelines per decade, for you to match your own gloves to. Sometimes the styles can cross over from one to the next.

 

The 1930s

1930s gloves are usually recognizable by the fabric. These early gloves are often made of silk, thin kid leather, or a woven rayon blend fabric with some stretch, usually thin and limp, and feels old to the touch. They are fairly fragile and you have to be careful of the seams because thread is often brittle.

Fragile, limp, shiny fabric help me to date these c. 1930s gloves.

Lace gloves from this era were a mesh sort of fabric as shown above, not the machine sheet lace modern lace gloves are made from. Most times gloves from this decade have decorative cuffs and stitching on the back of the hand. Smaller sizes are most common, as with most old gloves. Take caution with buying gloves from this era and the 1940s without trying them on, since a size 6 1/2 from the 1930s or 1940s is much smaller than a 1950's size 6 1/2.

 

The 1940s

1940s gloves are frequently cotton, rayon, or leather (suede too), and rarely plain. Look for shirring, asymetrical cuff hems, buttons, decorative tabs and stitching, beading as shown in the next photo, etc. A favorite length for this era was mid-arm length, sometimes called bracelet length. Lace gloves are rarely worn, and they come in all colors.
While the fabric will often feel sturdier than 1930s gloves, they still will not have the crisp cotton feel of cotton gloves of a later date. It is easier to find gloves from this era that fit modern hands, though they may be pricier.

You can often date a 1940s pair of gloves if they are stretchy by looking closely at the fabric. The early gloves from the '30s and '40s will have tiny ridges across the fabric, rather than the dense nylon of later date.

Look closely to see the tiny ridges in this early glove's fabric, which date it to be 1940s or earlier.

 

The 1950s

Very short gloves were popular in the 1950s, sometimes barely coming down over the heel of the hand as shown above, while long gloves were also worn of course for more formal occasions. Gloves from this decade were a little plainer than 1940s gloves, which makes sense since while fashions were severely tailored due to war rationing in the '40s, accessories like hats, wraps, and gloves were more ostentatious – while in the 1950s styles became more flowing and feminine, so the accessories became smaller and plainer. A very popular style from this decade are long gloves gathered with little stretches of elastic inside the arm.

There are many, many gloves from this decade easily available, mostly in cotton and nylon which is sturdier and stretchier than rayon from the earlier decades. The cotton pairs will be of a heavier-duty cotton and be smooth and dense. Lace gloves became more popular again for formal wear, so if you find lace gloves neither modern nor from the '30s, they are likely to be from the 1950s.

 

The 1960s

Gloves from the 1960s are apt to be of common nylon and more likely to easily fit your hand as a result. The gloves more often look machine made and are less a statement of style or workmanship. More vibrant and unusual colors became fashionable then as well. Gloves from this decade are usually in good shape with fabric and stitching intact and quite wearable. Sheer nylon gloves are most likely from this decade.

 

Storing

Especially for a glove collector who spends a fair amount of money on gloves, caring for them is important - particularly the few that are unique or hard to replace.

Store gloves flat and out of the light, since they will fade. If long gloves are too long for your receptacle, fold the finger end down to make it fit, rather than the wrist end. The reason for this is that wrinkles on the arm are more noticeable than wrinkles on the fingers, which will have creases from flexing your fingers anyway.

If you can find glove stretchers, they can be useful for inserting in your leather or suede gloves for storing. Nylon and lace gloves will not need stretchers, and cotton ones rarely do.

Cotton or nylon sturdy gloves can be ironed on low settings if needed. Never iron leather, silk, or rayon gloves.

 

But the main way to care for your gloves is to wear them! Even if they are carefully kept in a dark drawer, like other vintage fabrics, they will lighten along the creases with long disuse and fold marks cannot be removed. So get them out and wear them - give them some air and exercise!

 

Cleaning

Leather and silk gloves should be professionally cleaned, although if a leather glove is stated "washable leather" or "guaranteed washable" spot cleaning it might work. Laundering cotton and nylon gloves, especially cotton, is difficult. They often do not do well in the washing machine, so if you wash them, wash them by hand. It's hard, especially with white gloves, to keep the fingers stain-free – one reason why plenty of white gloves were considered a luxury, and colored ones are my preference when going anywhere I might have to handle dusty items (i.e. antique shopping). Nylon gloves from the '50s and '60s wash better but will pill quickly, especially on the fingertips.

Not all stains will come out of vintage gloves, either. Rust spots are practically impossible to remove without damaging the fabric. If there is just one spot that needs cleaned, try spot cleaning using a solution – women back in the day used benzine – or if washing is necessary, don't make the whole glove wet. Soak the part well, then work on scrubbing with a laundering soap and a soft toothbrush. If white gloves become too gray at the fingers and won't wash out, consider dying them (a fun, addictive way to give stained or blah vintage gloves a new life - tutorial coming soon!) or try a bleach solution. Bleach cannot be used where there is color or colored trim, however, but I've read that Rit Whitener & Brightener can, and I intend to try it to freshen some of my white gloves with dingy fingers and will update when I do.

Thankfully, if all else fails gloves are easy enough to find that, unless unusual, they can be cheaply replaced if necessary.

 

Creatively Repairing

Often vintage gloves need just a bit of TLC. Mending is very useful for keeping them wearable. Usually if a glove gives out it is at the seams. Old thread will break much sooner than old fabric will give out. Darning fabric is difficult and should only be attempted if the gloves are special and the hole is small. However, lace gloves can often be darned successfully. To do this, use matching thread and weave back and forth from one side of the hole to the other, filling up the gap and pulling it together.

 

These gloves have outside seams.

 

The easiest kind of glove to mend at a seam is a glove with outside seams in matching thread. Just match the thread and sew up the hole. I use a double thread because of the amount of stress. If the seams use some sort of decorative stitch and need repaired, find a friend who has some embroidery skills to help you copy the stitch. To mend a glove with inside seams, turn that finger or part inside-out and sew it like you would any other seam – probably by hand unless it's a nice straight, easy to get at area.

 

Sometimes if a glove is stained or has a hole in the fabric, it can be altered. If you have some sewing skills, it might be possible to cut out the part with the stain or hole, and insert another color of fabric or stretch of lace. Decorations are also used to cover up defects. If one glove has a stain on the back of its wrist, you can easily make up lace medallions or even use vintage brooches and pin or sew them on the back of each glove. Only you know that one of them hides something!

 

I did something similar to that with this pair of gorgeous gauntlets pictured above, one of which had a splash of gray paint on the cuff that could not be removed. I made matching bows with rhinestone brooches and some lace, and pinned one over the paint to hide it, pinning the other on the good glove to match. With using brooches, I can take them off and do something else when I wish.

 

Any Questions?

Wearing gloves is fun and elegant, as well as sanitary. It can be a creative outlet or a fashion statement, adding a perfect touch or color tie-in to an outfit. There are so many beautiful pairs out there, I like to wear them whenever I find an excuse. But even only for costume wear, it can be helpful to read about the different types, etiquette, and eras.

Hopefully I have interested you in the fascinating business of wearing and collecting gloves. If I've missed anything in my overview, just drop me a line. I'd be happy to answer your questions.

Thanks for reading The Art of Wearing Gloves!

 

The Weekly Word - 1 Timothy

I am not ashamed:

for I know whom I have believed

and am persuaded that he is able

to keep that which I have committed unto him

against that day.

-1 Timothy 1:12

The Art of Wearing Gloves - Part One

 

A while ago, I posted a short article on sizing vintage gloves. It occurred to me that it might be helpful to write about gloves in general, the different styles, and how to choose the correct gloves, so a two part series is in the works. Part One is a little overview about gloves in general, hints for wearing them, and discussing styles of gloves, regardless of age. Part Two, next week, will be about dating gloves and caring for and/or repairing them.

Glove etiquette used to be very strict. They were a very important part of a ladies' attire (gentlemen's to, but we're concerning ourselves here with ladies' gloves.) Ladies rarely went bare-handed off their own property, even as recently as the 1960s. But since gloves are, sadly, no longer a normal part of going-out attire, when we do wear them we have a lot more leeway in how we wear them, being no longer bound to the danger of committing a social gaffe by wearing “colored” gloves instead of white ones, for instance.

 

Some of my extensive personal collection.

 

It is impossible to have too many gloves, or so it seems (can you tell, from the above photo? :-) Ideally, a lady needs in every shade of every color a short glove with a fitted wrist, a short glove with a flared wrist, a long glove with a fitted arm, and a long gauntlet-style. Not to mention sometimes beading looks better, or too fussy and you want a plainer pair...or the only pair that are the exact color to match your shoes are leather, and you need them in cotton...You can see why it was normal to own dozens of pairs, if affordable.  

 

Beautiful detailing on a few of my gloves.

 

They were often works of art and worth collecting just on that note. So many endless varieties on cuffs and hems, ruching and trim, embroidery and lace, cut-out work and inserts, looped trim and beading. Plain pairs could and still can be spruced up by the buyer with embroidery, lace, and buttons. Sometimes they were made to coordinate with the fabric on a handbag, or have matching bows to a certain dress.  

 

Tips for Wearing Gloves

 

Never wear gloves when you need to eat with your fingers. It may be permissible to wear them while eating with a knife and fork, especially in public like a restaurant (although usually the gloves are removed with the coat, but not the hat, in restaurants) but never while eating popcorn (a mistake admitted by the actress who played Ruth in It's a Wonderful Life) or anything else with the fingers. That may mean, when holding a plate of finger foods, to remove the glove from the hand you eat with, and holding it with your plate in your other hand. Or remove both and place them in your handbag.

 

Usually the shorter the sleeve, the longer the glove. This is not always the case, since in '40s movies you will see very short cap sleeves with only wrist length gloves, but if you are going to wear elbow-length gloves, make sure the sleeve doesn't come down over them. This does not apply to gauntlet gloves, which are flared at the top and often worn over sleeves, whether blouse, jacket, or even coat.

A closeup of some of my gauntlets.

 

Black and white gloves are always the colors for formal wear; usually I say to choose the color that best goes with your formal dress. Black with maroon, usually; white with dark blue. However, colors like dark red, dove gray, silver or gold, can also be worn formally. White and pastel gloves should be almost exclusively kept for summer, although darker gloves can be worn in warm weather as well, if they match your dress. Keep in mind suitability of fabric when you choose gloves for an event. Dark gloves with straw cuffs are probably not suitable to wear to a dance, while they are fine for church or street wear.

 

When wearing gloves, they should coordinate with something else you are wearing. In the 1920s, shoes were to match a lady's hose, interestingly enough, and gloves could be odd colors. A little later, it was in good taste that the shoes and gloves of a ladies' outfit should match. While these stricter rules need not apply to today, to create a tasteful appearance, do keep a sharp eye on the colors and styles of gloves you wear, depending on the outfit. If you are wearing black shoes, don't wear brown gloves. If you have a lace blouse on, it may clash to wear long lace gloves of a different type of lace. If you have an elaborate dress, wear more conservative gloves – if you wear dashing gauntlets with a frilly dress, you may look overdressed, or the gloves and dress may take away from each other instead of complimenting. The reverse is also true – a plainer dress sets off a pair of elaborate gloves, with beading or lace inserts. (For a more tailored appearance – think 1950s secretary - both gloves and dress should be conservative, and save the gauntlets for a Sunday stroll or a visit to the races.) If you are wearing a white hat and shoes, but your skirt has dark purple flowers in it, dark purple gloves should look fine – as long as they are the same shade of purple! It's all about what is complimentary.

Different shades like purple and lavender give lots of options for the perfect complimentary color.

 

 

One particular fad of mine is not to combine gold and silver. If I am wearing blue, with a silver sweater and jewelry, I won't wear gloves or shoes with gold buckles on them. Not everyone has to go that far! I just mentioned it as a point to the small details that, together, give the impression of a tastefully dressed woman – or, if in costume, a historically accurate one.

 

Now, for some details about gloves...

 

Types of Gloves

-Opera gloves (mid upper arm or higher) are, of course, only to be worn for formal occasions and with no longer than very short sleeves. Shorter gloves can also be worn for formal occasions, but are not properly styled "opera gloves", and elbow length at least is proper. Until the advent of nylon, they were very difficult to get on and off, which is why most pairs have buttons at the wrist. These were to be unbuttoned and the hand of the glove tucked back out of the way while the lady ate, then resumed for  dancing – usually with the assistence of her dinner partner.

But if you have to entirely remove opera gloves for any reason, it is bad taste to do so in public.

Other lengths of gloves are wrist length – which can be very short indeed, barely covering the hand; mid-arm length, and elbow length. Ones that come past the elbow are considered opera length, although as I said above, opera gloves can vary in length as long as they come as far as the upper arm.

 

 

Some of my gauntlets and gauntlet-style gloves.

-Gauntlets are striking gloves with flared wrists – sometimes long, sometimes short, usually made from cotton to hold its shape. Often ornate, or unusually cut. The very exaggerated gauntlets are for wearing with flair, while the more conservative styles are appropriate for shopping or church. They are one of my favorite styles, and look elegant worn on a bare arm or over a sleeve. 

 

A gauntlet over a sleeve.

 

-Lace gloves are traditionally the teaparty, summer gloves. Black lace gloves can also be worn with formal evening wear. While cotton and nylon can also be worn in the summer, lace or openwork gloves are usually not worn in cold weather, except for indoor functions. Lace gloves come in many styles, from short to long, crocheted or knitted, mesh, or stretchy. Sheer nylon gloves, also, while not being lace, fit in this category and are for use in warm weather or indoor functions only.

 

Take note, as in the photo above, that stretchy lace gloves can really fool you on the size! They look like child's gloves, then when you put your hand in, you're surprised to discover they actually fit an adult's!

 

-Leather gloves can be worn in 3 seasons. They are far too hot to wear in summer. While not normally church gloves, thicker leather gloves were and are worn for shopping, and are removed with the coat or jacket, instead of being left on. If you have longer dress gloves (usually they come no farther than to the elbow) of fine thin leather or suede, those can be worn with an outfit, but keep in mind that they are usually harder to remove if you need to remove them quickly, and are warmer. Dress gloves like this usually coordinate best with a tailored, jacket-style ensemble, rather than a frilly or formal dress. They will hold wrinkles more than cotton and nylon, so don't ball them up; because of the way they retain wrinkles they will look old faster than other types of gloves as well.

 

 

One of my favorite pairs of nylon/rayon gloves, (c) 1930s.

-Nylon or rayon gloves are more forgiving than cotton ones, and often have a better fit because they can be snug without being unwieldy. Because they are slipperier, some ladies find them less pleasant to wear, especially in the summer. There are sheer nylon gloves, mentioned above, and other nylon or nylon blends, very common in the 1960s, although nylon material was also used for gloves earlier on. Before nylon, there was rayon, which is more delicate but also stretchy. Nylon gloves can be wrist length all the way to opera length. They are generally easier to clean.

 

Shorty summer cotton gloves, (c) 1950.

-Cotton gloves are constructed of something often called “double-woven cotton” or "suede" or "kidskin" and are a dense, smooth fabric, comfortable to touch. Because they are usually fairly thick, the seams can sometimes make the fingers uncomfortable or, if they are on the outside, make the hands look large. Cotton is much less stretchy and flexible than the nylon, lace, or even leather gloves; you can often cheat a size smaller with nylon gloves, and leather will stretch out with use (although only a small amount), but if you wear a size 7, for instance, it is risky to purchase a pair of cotton gloves in size 6 ½ unless you try them on first. They are appropriate year round, although often lighter colors for warmer weather and darker colors for winter are most suitable.

 

 

Thanks for taking a peek at my glove collection! For more details on the fascinating subject of gloves, watch for Part Two of this series next week.

 

Item of the Week - Vintage Blue Suede Heels

Very classy '80s navy blue suede heels with brass studs are half price for one week only in my Etsy shop - slashed from $25. Get this deal now!

The Weekly Word - Malachi

For from the rising of the sun

even unto the going down of the same my name

shall be great among the Gentiles;

and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name,

and a pure offering:

for my name shall be great among the heathen,

saith the Lord of hosts.

~Malachi 1:11

Item of the Week - Crocheted Victorian Brooch

This cute handmade Victorian style brooch is half price in my Etsy Shop for 1 week only - slashed from $7.

The Weekly Word - Zephaniah

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty;

he will save,

he will rejoice over thee with joy;

he will rest in his love;

he will joy over thee with singing.

-Zephaniah 3:17

January Tutorial – How to Make a Titanic Hat from a Wool Cloche

Less a Tutorial than a Project Journal

I am not a person who can wear bucket cloches. Very few people can wear them well, and I am not one of them. So when I got a navy blue bucket cloche with a lot of other hats from an auction, I didn't know what to do with it. I kept it for years without wearing it. I did try crumpling down the center, and it looked like a fedora. Not my type of hat either. 

Skip ahead a few years...Recently I've become interested in hat making. I've been reading articles and how-tos on different types of hats, and also hat forms or molds since to buy one is so expensive. I've become more and more fascinated by how easy to shape wet wool felt is. But being impatient me, do I wait until I can find or order some hat grade wool felt? No...

Instead I get the brilliant idea to reshape my vintage cloche – especially since that means all the seams are done already and the hem.

It also means I have less scope for creativity because I have to work with what is there. I have to take into account the decoration already around the crown. But I figured I could do something better with it, and here is how I did it.

(I'm so sorry I don't have a before picture – I didn't think of using this for a tutorial until it was already finished. But here's a picture that shows the approximate shape of what it was before I started.)

 

The Hat Form

Basics first. After researching how to make your own hat form, I decided to do it easy and found that this works well, though it's not the prettiest hat drying form around, and only takes a few minutes.

 

First, I took a Planter's peanut can, which is about the right size and lightweight. Many other types of cans should work – I had this one on hand.

 

I folded styrofoam packing on the bottom of the can (now the top of the hat form) and used packaging tape to tape bubble wrap all around it to make a dome. This is to keep the hat from having a square top.

 

 

Then I covered it all over with plastic wrap to keep it dry when the hat is on it.

 

And the best part is - it only took me a few minutes!

 

The Hat Shaping

For the cloche, I first soaked it good in water. I ran water in it and outside it, all over it, until it was completely soaked through. It still retained its shape – it just looked like a very wet, heavy cloche.

I put the hat form on a bath towel and put the dripping hat on the form.

 

Then the fun part started. I had the decoration on the side to work around, so I knew what had to be front and what was back. Also the length of the brim was slightly different in front and back. But with those considerations in mind, I could play around with it, folding it different ways and pinning it.

 

 

I pinned up the brim on one side to make it look a little like a riding habit hat, then pinned all the wrinkles how I wanted them and smoothed out the ones I didn't want.

 

 

Since I didn't want the hat so tall, I punched the top in a little and sculpted the wrinkles that created.

 

With all the padding on the hat form, you can stick pins into it and they'll stay. So when it was all pinned, I set it – still on the bath towel – in front of a fan and let it there all day. It felt dry by the evening, but I left it on the form overnight, just in case.

 

The next day I took the pins out and this was the result:

It held its new shape perfectly! Hooray!

  

Hat Trimming

The fun part! I wanted a Lady Grantham style sort of hat for my Titanic costumes, and this hat lent itself well to that. I won't say it in the end it looks completely period, but it's close enough for the time being.

My favorite hat trimming devices are vintage millinery flowers and berries. They just look more authentic than modern ones, for some reason. But I also like hat trims that don't have to be sewn or glued on, since that way I can change them around to match my costume if I like. With that in mind, I keep a supply of decently-authentic looking flower clips and brooches (cheap in craft stores), which are admirable for times like this.

 

So first I wanted a dash of color. The millinery berries did that well, and with the turned up brim I could hide the stems easily.

 

Feathers are always appropriate, especially for this time period. I liked how this looked on the hat, but it came down over my eye too much, so I decided to wait until later to place it.

 

 

Then I had an idea to use a jewelry component of a strip of rolled ribbon flowers I've had for a while. I tucked one end under the side decoration, and the other between two folds on the crown of the hat. That makes a nice asymmetrical look.

 

But it needs more poof. Time to bring on the clip-on flowers.

 

This one? Nope. Definitely not polka dots. And the rose shape doesn't fit right with the style of the hat.

 

This one's better, but almost too much poof. It makes the hat look more steampunk, or gothic. Which is fine if that's what you like, but not what I'm looking for. Besides, I thought it added too many colors in a jumble.

 

 

Ah, now this is better! It's close to the ivory of the roses, but more of a champagne, to add depth of ivory shades. It will match anything and is more the right size. It's on an alligator clip, so I can move it around as I wish, or replace it if needed to match an outfit.

 

The feather adds a finishing touch. And all I need to do is stitch down the ends of the rose strip and maybe a berry cluster to keep it in place.

 

 

Hat views:

 

 

And of course, even though I am not in costume, I had to try it on.

 

 

I flatter myself that it really does look like a hat Lady Grantham would wear. And even if not, it's much better than the bucket cloche it was, when it sat in a hatbox for years!

 

 

Now I am excited about buying up all sorts of wool hats in antique stores that I wouldn't normally purchase, just so I can reshape them; and am sorry for all the ones in the past I decided I didn't like after all, and sold or gave away!

Just to demonstrate shaping a different style, here's the before and after pictures of another hat I at first didn't like and had the inspiration to turn it into a ritzy looking (and even more Period than the cloche) '40s style tilt hat - one of the more expensive styles to buy vintage and incidentally one of my favorites.

 

Before:

 

After:

 

I don't know if I'll get into actual hat making - shaping straw, for instance - although I do think I want to try making a hat from scratch eventually, maybe cutting up wool coats from a thrif store (not too nice coats, of course!). But I am looking forward to being able to make my own unique creation out of ugly or unwanted hats – and give them a new life.

 

See you later!

~Kristen - Verity Vintage Studio

 

 

Look for my new tutorials posted sometime during the first full week of every month. Hairstyles, crafts, repurposing, vintage themed, etc.

 

A Good Place to Find Vintage Styles

If you haven't shopped at ModCloth before, then now is the time to do it! ModCloth is a top online retailer of cute vintage-style retro & indie clothing, shoes and decor. You must check out their really fun dresses and they have a full line of cute plus size clothes too! They are moderately priced, well made and you can always find a deal. Right now for a limited time, selected items are 50-70% off on their sale page here : www.modcloth.com/shop/sale. 

The Weekly Word - Deuteronomy

And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing 

which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee,

and unto thine house,

thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

Deuteronomy 26:11