A Fashion History of Gloves

The Fashion and Function of Gloves Throughout History

For centuries, gloves have been worn both as fashion statements and as protective or vocational attire. This long course of existence has allowed plenty of opportunities for gloves to play important roles throughout history.

Dueling Gents and Trendsetting Dames Duels were often initiated by the throwing down of a glove. He who threw down a glove was showing his defiance, and he who picked it up was accepting of the challenge. Ladies wore gloves in the 13th century as ornamental pieces, but Queen Elizabeth I took ornamental gloves to a new level in the 16th century by wearing heavily embroidered and jeweled gloves.

Packing a Punch in Pop Culture

Trendsetting ornamental gloves were not uncommon even in the 20th century. Remember Madonna's fingerless lace gloves or Michael Jackson's crystal studded white gloves of the 1980s? These pop sensations aren't the only icons with famous gloves. Consider the boxing gloves used by Muhammad Ali to deliver that final left hook followed by a thunderous right on the face of George Foreman during the famous Rumble in the Jungle.

The Glove's on the Other Hand

Other athletes, like baseball players, also wear specially designed gloves, but even baseball gloves are not beyond revamping. In 2007, a special six-fingered glove was designed for Creighton University pitcher Pat Venditte Jr. to accommodate his ambidextrous pitching abilities.

Bad Men and the Gloves that Made them Famous

This young pitcher isn't the first to wear a glove with room for an extra finger. Christopher Guests' character, in the 1987 Rob Reiner film The Princess Bride, wears a six-fingered glove as his villainous character The Six-Fingered Man. The 1980s horror film series Nightmare on Elm Street also produced a famous gloved villain in Freddy Krueger. Krueger wore an unforgettable glove that gave the illusion that he had knives for fingers.

Gloved in Professionalism

There are, of course, more practical reasons for wearing gloves than hiding a sixth finger or scaring teenagers while they sleep.

• Medical professionals wear gloves to protect both themselves and their patients from any bodily fluid exchanges.
• A welder wears extremely heavy and thick leather gloves to protect his hands and arms from hot flames and sparks.
• Pontifical gloves are worn primarily by popes, cardinals and bishops, but may only be worn to celebrate mass.

From villains to pop stars, athletes to popes, history has proved that no matter the person or the situation, there's probably a glove to fit.