Men’s Glove Etiquette

In the “bad old days” it was a capital offense to shake a woman’s hand with your glove on.

Male Polish – Good Taste Dictates Glove Etiquette

By Dot Goodwin

Dressing right is always a partly subjective proposition and in our era a lot of the old rigid “rules of dress” have been loosely treated and lightly taken. As a result, many “must” matters are now matters of taste. Take gloves. It's possible today to go gloveless and still be thought well dressed (except on formal occasions such as weddings where gloves are strictly required). Gloves, like hats, have dropped from the “necessary” to the “optional” class. But with the best-dressed men, and with those who put even a little extra time and thought into their wardrobes, both gloves and hats are indispensible throughout the winter months. 

“What gloves do I wear, and when?” Here are a few guideposts: 

Buck leather or dark gray suede gloves look best with gray or black coats. 

With a navy blue coat, pearl gray suede gloves are the ultimate in good dress. With coats in the brown group (including tan and beige), wear brown leather. In general, contrast the glove shade against that of the coat. 

For example, with a light tan or copper pepper-and-salt tweed, dark, grained pigskin gloves are in order. Note that this combination unites a casual coat with a casual leather. With a solid color or quiet herringbone topcoat, pick a more formal, smooth leather or suede. 

In the bad old days, it was a capital offense to shake a woman’s hand with your glove on. Not so today. Manners have become jet-propelled. It’s now far worse to keep a woman waiting while you shuck off your glove than to shake with it on. Nor should you apologize for a begloved shake. In truth, you're doing HER the favor by not dawdling. 

It’s unnecessary to remove your gloves when shaking a man’s hand. Indoors, you will have shed the things anyhow, leaving them with your hat. In the case of white-gloved ushers at weddings and funerals, of course, the gloves stay on. – The Sun, 1963 

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia