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| Jean Paul Gaultier |
I began collecting vintage gloves over ten years ago and had amassed approximately 300 pair even before I established the Mobile Millinery Museum & Costume Archive.
Gloves and hats go hand in hand (forgive the pun), but are an interesting collectible unto themselves, particularly when paired with glove boxes. I teamed a few pair with hats in my collector's guide, 1,000 Hats, but withheld the rest for a future book on gloves alone.
Gloves fell out of fashion two generations ago, marking them as a novelty artefact with many vintage costume collectors who are only beginning to appreciate this personal item of apparel for its variety of workmanship and design.
From early fashion gloves of delicate net, lace, silk, satin, & taffeta, to 20th century doe-skin, mink, and rayon examples, there is something for everyone, including couture examples from the likes of Elsa Schiaparelli and Jeanne Lanvin.
Gloves can be an easy and inexpensive entrée into the world of antique costume collecting. Not only does their small size make for easy storage and display, but iconic examples, emblematic of a particular historic period, can stand in for an entire costume, which would be more difficult to obtain, conserve, or exhibit.
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