Tips for Dating Vintage Gloves

elvenom

elvenom

Registered Guest
Hi Ladies,

So now I have fallen in love with vintage gloves! I bought two pair the other day for the first time - and I have no idea what I should be looking for as far as how to date them. Here is one pair that I found. Just lovely! The inside of one of them is stamped with a 7 (though they are pretty small; can barely get them on). How does one discern vintage from modern gloves.

Not sure if they are vintage or not, although they were in a basket of other vintage goodies.

Gloves-5.jpg


Gloves-3.jpg
 
Photos might help!

The "7" equates to shoe size, although vintage gloves are often narrower than modern gloves. If your shoe size is larger than 7, they're likely to be small for you.

Most vintage gloves are from the '50s or '60s but if you post photos or more description, I'm some one will be able to help more.

Nicole

Edit: sorry, your photos did load the first time I looked at your post. It's a bit hard to tell - do you have any of the inside tags? I think yours might be fairly modern but the tags will help.
 
I don't know Nicole, I'm a glove size 7 1/2 in vintage and modern gloves and don't have any problem fitting into vintage 7's. Ladies used talc and glove stretchers then so that they gently stretched their gloves to literally "fit like a gloves".;)

Trouble is, we're so used to yanking on things and expecting them to fit straight away, shoes and gloves are made huge today to accomodate this demand (too huge if you ask me- modern gloves are always so baggy on me :wacko: ) but back in the "olden days" (LOL!), women broke things in so they fitted like a second skin.

I was at the Side Saddle National show on Sunday and there was a lady there selling antique and vintage gloves for the side saddle costume classes and she MADE me try on a pair of skinny finger gloves that looked so narrow (LOL, I wasn't going to say no and neither was she going to let me walk out of her stall without trying them on!). They looked so tiny but I did get them on slowly yet surely! Most people at a vintage clothing fair, would have passed these gloves by as they looked so small but of course it took a side saddle rider to brave the unknown (LOL, typical side saddle riders- no sense- no fear :D )

I had an identical pair of those glovers but white kidskin instead of black and I dated mine to the late 50's- early 60's. :)
 
Hi, Just to say that I'm totally in :wub: with vintage gloves too & can't stop buying them! I adore your gloves! As they're leather they're probably driving gloves? Certainly look vintage, as Nicole said 50s/60's.

Sarah
 
Thanks Lei: you're quite right. I forget how lazy we are now when it comes to fit! You can tell by old photos that ladies didn't wear their gloves loose and baggy - I appreciate the correction.

Nicole
 
I have small hands (6 1/2 glove) and larger feet (8 wide) so that rule does not work for me. A fool proof way to determine glove size is this. Take two measurements

1. from top of middle finger to end of the heel of your hand
2. around the palm just below the fingers.

Whichever is larger is your glove size. In my upcoming book I have an illustration for this.

Melody

Oh! I think your black gloves are later 40s-50s. Beautiful cut work!
 
LOL, I have big feet too (UK 8/ US 10) so I prefer my ladylike hand measurement! :D

Melody, I've always read that you take your glove measurement just below the fingers around the palm (like you said) BUT with your fingers spread apart at their widest (not closed together).

If I do the length way (tip of finger to heel of hand), I get 8" but size 8 gloves are ALWAYS too big for me even in the odd vintage ones I find. If I do with the the palm way you mentioned, I get 7" but size 7 gloves although I can get them on, they are tight. If I do it the way I've read, I get 7 1/2" which if def my size. :wacko:

Lei
 
Hmm, all my gloves (all 2 pairs of them) look really tiny, but fit really well...gloves are cool I agree, they have to be vintage thought, (much like shoes) modern gloves fit wierd.
 
LOL! We can trade our shoes and gloves then! :D
The only other person that takes my shoe size is my mum. All the women in Gary's family have dinky UK size 5 feet. :teeth:
 
Thank you ladies! I have enjoyed reading all the responses. I forgot to subscribe and forgot to check back lol..lkranieri, thank you for the link. well, the gloves sold right away..i almost kept them..

I am a shoes size 9.5-10 and those gloves were a 7. I could get my hand in them, but couldnt bend my fingers. Thats my 4 year old sons hand in the photo. lol
 
I adore vintage gloves and hats. I feel somehow we got cheated as it is not the norm to wear them.
I have been picking up the most amazing lacy pink ones for my grandaughters. One of them will have a pink wedding and I will have gloves for the whole wedding party.
 
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