Back in the day, people wore gloves not only in cold weather, but all the time. Gloves were a statement of class and age. My questions are about the upper-class wearers back in history when gloves were a necessity: 1. The gloves were worn outdoors. At what point were the gloves taken off? Say, a lady or a gentleman is going to a restaurant, he or she is wearing gloves; at what point were the gloves supposed to come off? If they are going to visit a friend, at what point do gloves come off? Once the gloves are taken off, where do they go? Theater/ball room? 2. When the gloves are worn, do they go over the shirt sleeve or under the shirt sleeve? How about jacket sleeve? 3. How long are the gloves supposed to be at various times of year/various locations/with various outfits? This summer, I've seen old ladies in 98F heat and 100% humidity wear long sleeve jackets, white gloves, stockings, hats, and all. Those were very old ladies, I saw them go up the steps of the Metropolitan Museum in the middle of the day. The Met. gives afternoon tea and there are various meetings of contributors, so I suppose those old, properly clad ladies belong to the sort of group that would visit such events. Gloves are still a statement of class and age. I liked their style very much, it's something I'd like to put on from time to time; but I should know the etiquette before trying such a fit.
Talking about little old ladies, I saw the other day a little old lady, white-haired and maybe 5.4', slide into a BMW M Roadster. She had a sweet smirk on her face. Too much. I don't think she'd be the type wearing gloves!
I'm not quite old enough to have personal recollections of that era but I'm closer to it than most of you. I believe that traditional etiquette grouped gloves with hats. Ladies and gentlemen would take off their gloves when they took off their hats, which would mean a rather informal setting. I could be wrong. I suspect that the tradition of wearing gloves had two sources. One was the fact that Europe in the Middle Ages was a revoltingly filthy place in which ladies and even some gentlemen held perfumed handkerchiefs to their faces while walking outdoors. If they touched anything outdoors or in an unfamiliar abode, it might come off on their hands. The other was the Victorian taboo about seeing human skin, which was about two steps away from Sharia.
I thought upper class women wore gloves to protect them from the sun. Only poor people who worked outside got tanned.
Teatime gloves: What are the proper protocols for wearing gloves at an afternoon tea? The protocols for wearing gloves are the same, whether one is attending an afternoon tea or any other event where foods and beverages are served. While gloves are often highly designed with decorations and adornments, their sole purpose is to cover and protect ones hands from the elements. When greeting another, remove the glove from the right hand, place the removed glove in your left hand and shake hands skin to skin. It is improper to dine with ones gloves on. Remove your gloves before sitting down to dine. The exception is for long, formal gloves with buttons at the wrist. It is acceptable to unbutton, remove ones fingers and hands and fold back, to the wrist ,the lower portion of the glove without removing the upper portion from your arm. If the gloves have no wrist buttons, the gloves should be removed in their entirety before dining. http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/etiquette.html
She soon will be because there's a pair of shiny leather riding gloves on a gorgeous photograph in this year's August Vogue issue. Yuppeh, riding gloves for stirring your wheel.
The ones with the holes in them around the knuckles? I hope that catches on, they're damned sexy. http://www.operagloves.com/etiquette.html Might be of use. Also dig the hanky code for gloves: "glove flipped to the left: watersports"
The era isn't quite gone yet. Jackie Kennedy wore gloves. I'm not sure, but if I remember right, Queen Elizabeth II still wears gloves. Gloves are a must at Debutante balls. Past the necessity, it's a fashion trend. Since our cities are still quite dusty and the sun is more and more vicious each year, heavy tanning has gone out of fashion and ladies are trying to cover everything again.
LOL, someone made that up! Hmm, what 'code' could I make. If you hair is parted in teh middle, you are bisexual. On the right, gay. On the left, straight. I know its true because I read it on this forum.
Thanks! But what am I supposed to think of a source that tells me to raise my pinkie when I drink tea?
That's genuine. Those little English-style teacups are too small to put more than two fingers on the handle. If your third finger is out, your little finger is going to be way out. Otherwise you might be dragging one or both in the saucer and knock your cup off balance.
I already raise my pinky when I drink tea Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Cute little girls always wear cute little gloves :/
Gloves pictured in Vogue: http://uk.burberry.com/pws/ProductC...rsum_runway&paId=wc_dept&value=prorsum_runway as seen in image 3 and 4. By the way, Vogue is worth picking up. It's the only fashion magazine that strives to achieve substance and sometimes they succeed with a good article here and there; they publish a good photograph once in a full moon, too. The image with the driving gloves is particularly successful in color. The model is wearing those, with a bright pink J Crew sweater and a dark blue Burberry short sleeve coat, and she's also wearing a strawberry blonde wig. She's wearing unflattering shades and a dumb look as well, but what can you do. Oh, she's spinning the wheel of a Mercedes Benz. That's the wheel that requires driving gloves. Recently, the ancient Asian-style tea cups have returned. They're used in all tea houses I've visited so far. It's true, those cups are tiny. But what about the ordinary cups from which we drink tea, the huge cups? I was recently in the homeland and picked up a cup as a souvenir; the tea cup is a cross-breed between a tea cup and a night pot in its size. Surely you can get your entire hand around the handle, and if you don't it'll be tricky to hold the cup steady. Who drinks from small cups nowadays? --- ...And my next question is: where do ladies get their gloves? I don't mean leather gloves, those are easy to find and they're not what I'm after. I am looking for those satin (?) small gloves which ladies wear in the summer heat. Those gloves must be posh.
That's popular with Russians. It's done to cool the tea quicker before drinking. We also lightly blow on the tea.
