Mid-20th C. Women’s Glove Etiquette

   

Social successories – Women’s long silk gloves, along with a pair of vintage leather gloves, antique glove stretchers and button hooks.

Glove Etiquette

There was a time when gloves played an important role in society, and a lady was rarely seen in public without them. Today, especially in Southern California where the dressing habits are so casual, the emphasis placed on this accessory is perhaps not stressed enough. When a young woman is trying to look her best, gloves tend to give her a more poised and pleasing appearance. The college girl should always wear gloves to such events as semi-formal and formal dances, receptions, concerts, formal dinners, interviews, weddings, etc…

In choosing a length for your gloves, you should consider the type of sleeve you will be wearing. The lengths of gloves range from one-button (one inch above the base of the thumb) to 20 buttons (20 inches above the base of the thumb). For short-sleeved dresses, any length along the lower forearm is appropriate. Sleeveless cocktail dresses and semi-formals are effectively accessorized with elbow-length gloves. On very formal occasions where long, bare-armed gowns are prevalent, only opera and shoulder lengths are permissible. The popular shorty gloves are the most versatile of all and can be worn with almost anything.

Gloves have acquired an etiquette of their own, and the manner in which they are handled is important. Once inside a building or house, you may remove them at any time except at formal dances, dinners, and receptions. When eating, both gloves should be removed and kept on the lap under the dinner napkin, never on top of the table. A lady should always keep her gloves on while shaking hands.

Fine store glove departments have a complete selection of the finest gloves in the most fashionable styles, colors, and materials. There you can find chic gloves designed in imported kid, pigskin, or the new stretch leather that conforms to the shape of the hand beautifully. To make it easy for you to coordinate an outfit, the fabric gloves of easy care cotton or nylon come in a host of shades. For evening, luxurious metallic fabrics and satins have been used to give more importance and elegance to the hands. 

To add an extra touch of completeness to an outfit, matching purses have been combined with gloves that fit every hand size (they make perfect gifts, too!). At Harris' glove counter, individual attention is given to helping you select the right style and insuring a perfect fit. Remember, properly gloved hands can make the difference between good and bad grooming. – By Mary Kay and Pam Louden for the Highlander, 1964

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

How to Wear Gloves Properly

 

“During her early years as an etiquette writer, the late Emily Post advised women to put their gloves on before they stepped out of their homes. She later conceded that there were times when gloves were not necessary. Today, the rules are greatly relaxed, but gloves should be worn when going to a formal luncheon, dinner, reception or dance. They are de rigueur on the streets of large towns and cities. They should be worn to and from church.”—1962

Wardrobe Of Gloves Suggested

ALTHOUGH wildly colored or printed gloves crop up periodically in fashion, authorities on etiquette agree that they are rarely correct. The arbiters favor classic gloves in subdued shades. They wince when they are confronted with what one of them calls “weird” materials such as silver or gold lame, fancy embroidery, or costumes in which the hat, handbag, shoes and gloves are of a matching color. 

Gloves, these arbiters maintain, are part of the background. They should not be a focal point. As a result, a good glove wardrobe for street and evening wear often is organized around neutral colors — beige, gray, black, white, navy and brown.

During her early years as an etiquette writer, the late Emily Post advised women to put their gloves on before they stepped out of their homes. She later conceded that there were times when gloves were not necessary. Today, the rules are greatly relaxed, but gloves should be worn when going to a formal luncheon, dinner, reception or dance. They are de rigueur on the streets of large towns and cities. They should be worn to and from church.

Short Gloves Removed

Generally, gloves should be removed before a woman smokes, eats, drinks, puts on make-up or handles merchandise in a shop. Long, elbow-length gloves, often worn to formal dinners and dances, are treated differently. They may be left on for dancing, or unbuttoned at the wrist and the finger-ends tucked into the wrist opening, whenever a woman smokes or drinks. They should always be completely removed when a woman sits down to dinner.


Gloves are worn when a woman shakes hands, either as the hostess, or guests in the receiving line at a formal reception. It is suitable to wear bracelets over long gloves, but rings should be worn under, never over, any kind of gloves. Gloves are made in a variety of lengths. Two-button gloves are wrist length. Four-button are bracelet length. Eight-button come to the elbow. The longest gloves, worn with evening gowns, come within an inch or two of the shoulder.


Shorter lengths usually are worn with longer sleeves and vice versa. Very short gloves, which are young looking, are sometimes worn with sleeveless dresses in the summertime. Elbow-length gloves are often worn crushed, not full length, to fill the space between the hand and a longer sleeve. 

Color consultants favor gloves in a shade that is paler or darker than the clothes it with which they are to be worn. White gloves are the late-day gloves, except in some warm climates and in some cities in the summer. Black kid gloves start in the morning and go all the way through the evening. A general rule one fashion advisor advocates is polished leather gloves– kid or glacé– with tweeds, mohairs and lusterless fabrics. — The New York Times, 1962

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

Women’s Dress Etiquette of 1922

A lady’s dress must be in harmony with her surroundings. Avoid anything exaggerated or eccentric. – Above, a young married couple in 1922 Los Angeles, photo source, Etiquipedia private photo library 

What A Woman Should Wear

• Women should dress quietly and inconspicuously when traveling. When in doubt where the plainer dress. 
• A lady's dress must be in harmony with her surroundings. Avoid anything exaggerated or eccentric.
• Sport skirts are not appropriate for business or on the streets. Neither are high heels.
• A lady should not go about in a blouse and skirt outside her house or an office, anymore than a man should appear in the street or in the presence of ladies in his shirt sleeves. 
• Gloves are always worn by a lady at a social affair. Although she may remove them, she must have them on upon her arrival. 
• Black clothes should not be worn at a wedding. 
• Girls should not go to school in georgette waists, silk stockings, pointed-toed or high heeled shoes and hair put up in a ridiculous style.
• A hat is never worn with an evening dress nor is a day dress worn without a hat.
• A thick ankle should have dark stockings whenever possible.
• A very slim lady should not wear a severe straight lined frock.
• Satin slippers should be worn only with semi evening or evening dress —never with street clothes.
• Pumps are not worn with fur coats, nor velvet hats with summertime frocks.
• Sport clothes are for the tennis courts, golf links, skating rinks and similar places, not for teas and receptions.
• The slim lady must avoid the severely straight up and down lines and stripes in all forms tunics, large collars, ruffles, soft flimsy, checked and flowered materials should be worn by the slim lady.
• The stout woman must avoid checked and brightly colored materials. Long lines and clothes without waistlines should be her choice.
• Do not trim cheap gowns with expensive trimmings, nor imitate expensive gowns in tawdry materials.
• Do not wear a decollete gown in the daytime.—From “Every Day Problems in Etiquette” 1922

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

Dining Etiquette and Gloved Ones

                            

“To eat with gloves on is female snobbery.” — There are many things one can do whilst wearing a lovely pair of gloves. But, ladies, it is incorrect to wear rings over gloves or eat whilst wearing them!

Another Etiquette Query

“One in Doubt” asks whether etiquette requires a lady to keep her gloves on while partaking of refreshments at an evening party.


Now, Miss Bwoun did try, in a very silly way, some years ago, to foster that absurd fashion of eating with her gloves on. If she had not been laughed out of it, she would have worn her Marquise ring outside of her glove. To eat with gloves on is female snobbery. 

Young women who go out to parties may be lavish of gloves, and may be indifferent to smearing them with lobster salad, or to have the first finger and thumb darkened where the spoon touches them. But nothing is prettier than the freshness of a woman's hand, and the best fitting glove is, after all, but an awkward thing. Gloved hands that feed, to keep up the whole dignity of the thing, should find mouths which were hidden behind veils. — The New York Times, July 1880

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