There was some interest around here lately for more details on various aspects of Scarlett's wardrobe. We did our best to garner answers for some of the questions asked in the comments last week. It has not been easy; our usual sources didn't really cover accessories, but with the help of iso and her recently-acquired subscription to the entire archive of
Godey's Lady's Book (!), today I am here with information on the burning topic of 19th century gloves.
And for the Victorians, gloves were indeed a burning topic. The fashion regarding gloves changed numerous times throughout the century, but some things remained constant. The wearing of gloves was strongly encouraged not only outdoors, but indoors as well. Gloves were an indicator of a person's social and economic status, so nothing but the best quality would do. An old proverb said that it took three kingdoms to make one glove: Spain to provide the kid, France to cut it out and England to sew it. The cutting was the essential part, for gloves had to be fit to the hand of the wearer. This was not an era that encouraged mass-production for luxury items: hands had to be measured for gloves, just like feet were measured for boots. In the picture, you can see a lady getting fitted for her gloves.
Quite a precious commodity under these circumstances, gloves were carefully cleaned and kept in ornate glove boxes. They were of course differentiated for day wear and evening wear and for various occasions. Some people, generally the extravagantly rich, were said to change their gloves up to 4 times a day. In a century that put so much set on this particular accessory, Scarlett O'Hara's lack of gloves during the jail scene was in itself unladylike, regardless of the state of her hands. A lady did not leave her house without her gloves on.
As the century progressed, the style of gloves and the materials used changed numerous times. The popularity of kid was slowly dented by first suede, and then lace and silk. At the very beginning of the century, long gloves were popular, in the style favored by Empress Josephine of France (Napoleon's first wife). The length was compensated by the gloves' loose fit on the arm, that allowed women to wear them drawn down towards the wrist, at various lengths. The long gloves will only come back into fashion in the second half of the century (around 1870), coupled with a tight fit on the arm, that made it a little complicated for ladies to don and remove their gloves. A compromise was achieved with the mousquetaire wrist opening, through which ladies could slip their hands out of the gloves for meals without removing them altogether (it was and is against etiquette to eat or drink with gloves on).
And since all the other aspects (color, fabric, length) pretty much differ from year to year, there wouldn't have been much sense in me trying to treat this period as whole. So instead iso and I had a different idea. After the jump, you'll find a timeline of glove styles fashionable from 1861 to 1873, taken directly from
Godey's Lady's Book. This way you can not only see how the fashion evolved, but also check exactly what gloves Scarlett would have been wearing every year of the book (baring the war years, of course).
Also, after the jump, two extra surprises for you: a guide to glove lengths and a fragment examining the relation between gloves and mourning. Check it out and tell us what you think!
