Dear Etiquetteer:
My husband and I have been making more regular use of our tuxedos after the desert that was the pandemic. To help freshen our look, we’re contemplating introducing the use of gloves with our tuxedos and have some questions:
1. Are there certain occasions (or times of day) that gloves should or should not be worn?
2. Should the gloves be white, gray or some other color?
3. Any other considerations as we embark on our new adventure?
As an aside, I imagine that rings should never be worn over gloves.
Dear Gloving:
Etiquetteer could not be more delighted that you’re considering gloves, but sadly they are almost obsolete unless required by the weather.
The first thing to note is that cloth gloves are Not Perfectly Proper for gentlemen. Save those white cotton gloves for the rare book room at the library and your community theatre chorus. Leather is the thing, chamois, doeskin or buck. We hear the phrase “kid gloves” often enough, but Esquire Etiquette said as far back as 1953 that “White kid gloves are worn indoors only, and the practice of dancing with gloves on has just about died.” And why did a gentleman wear white kid gloves while dancing? As a courtesy to his dancing partner, because they prevented him leaving the mark of his sweaty palm on her gown.
Emily Post Herself said no gloves with black tie*, but Esquire Etiquette of 1953 allowed what she did not. Their editors declared white gloves for white tie and white, off-white or gray gloves for black tie. You will observe that neither of those colors is black. Etiquetteer was surprised to learn from Gentleman’s Gazette (a wonderful resource from this century) that “Dressy black leather gloves are the poor man’s evening glove. Traditionally, gentlemen would never wear black gloves in the evening and hence wearing black gloves cheapens your black tie outfit.” So Etiquetteer has been doing it wrong all these years . . .
The one exception Etiquetteer would consider allowing would be a very pale lavender, in homage to the late Fréderic Chopin. Chopin was quite the dandy, and his “famous collection of kid gloves . . . launched the fashion for his favorite shade.”** This will work best if you can subtly work in some purple, either in your waistcoat or your cufflinks and studs. You’ll have more leeway if the invitation reads Creative Black Tie, but strictly speaking, it’s not Perfectly Proper.
The only other color to mention for formal gloves is, believe it or not, pale lemon yellow. But those are not for the evening; they are one of the colors approved for morning dress (think royal wedding). But Etiquetteer would advise caution on that anyway. Poor Henrik Ibsen, once he finally had a little success on the Norwegian stage, invested in a pair of yellow gloves — and was laughed out of the room by his Bohemian friends.***
Other considerations? Etiquetteer wouldn’t wear evening gloves if it wasn’t cold enough to wear them, so they’d feel out of place in the summer months. Evening gloves are also supposed to be very thin and fit snugly, so bulky linings won’t serve you well here. Gentlemen don’t wear gloves indoors, and no one is supposed to wear them while eating or drinking. Of course a gentleman does not shake hands wearing gloves.
And good grief, of course rings are not worn over gloves! That’s more a stereotype for ostentatious ladies with large rings.
Gentleman’s Gazette offers a beautiful pair of white evening gloves, which you may purchase here. The Buckingham from Dents in the United Kingdom are also worthy of consideration. But if you really want to go top of the line bespoke, consider Daniel Storto.
Etiquetteer wishes you joy and pleasure as you contemplate new gloves.
*Etiquette, by Emily Post (1950), page 485.
**Chopin’s Funeral, by Benita Eisler (2004), page 25
***Etiquetteer no longer has that old biography of Ibsen and is in despair at finding the reference.