vintage gloves

My cousin is continuing going through the treasures in her house. She emailed me the following photo and asked me if had any interest in the contents.

I know that many of you might look at this photo and see three pairs of stained little old lady gloves and a groovy belt.

I have hands that run cold. I wear gloves when it is less than 70 degrees out because otherwise my hands get achy.I have purchased at auction lots of the kinds of gloves proper ladies wore to synagogue or to church and dye them colors that make me happy.

So yes, I did want these gloves. Some of these gloves may have belonged to my cousin. Some may have belonged to my cousin's tiny and elegant mother-in-law who had tiny and elegant hands and feet.


I soaked and washed the gloves.

I tried on the crochet gloves while they were damp to be sure they would stretch out to my size.

The black gloves fit me perfectly. You can see that they have been embellished with tiny butterfly like blossoms constructed out of glove fabric and embroidery.

These pretty gloves embellished with blind buttonhole stitching, french knots and teeny buttons do not fit me at all.  I may dye them and give them to my friend with tiny delicate hands. She has trouble finding gloves to fit her hands.

This pair with the cheeky center slit and the undersea looking embellishments made out of bullion stitches anchored by a tiny button hole stitch just fit me

All of my old sewing and fashion books talk about how the right pair of gloves completes an outfit.  My mother liked a nicely made leather glove with a cashmere lining for cold weather wear. If it was a bit warmer  she would wear unlined leather gloves or dark cotton gloves. When I was little she used to wear white kid gloves to synagogue during the warmer months. Those were my favorite. The kidskin was so unbelievably soft. I used to amuse myself during services by smoothing out the soft kidskin over and over.

I don't remember exactly when the white gloves worn for style stopped being worn by my mother.I do know that every coat I own has a pair of gloves in the pockets. The cold weather coats have warm gloves, the denim jackets and lighter coats have cotton gloves, either white or dyed waiting to be worn and keep my hands warm.