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Glove
lengths
The length of a glove is traditionally expressed in
"buttons", an antique French unit of measure which is slightly
longer than one inch.
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Illustration by Harrison Fisher |
Button measures are customarily taken from the
bottom of the thumb seam to the top of the glove, and the actual length
of the glove in inches is 6 to 7 inches longer than the length in
buttons.
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 The various traditional lengths are:
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 2-button:
Also known
as "shorties", these are wrist-length gloves, generally 8 to 9
inches long. They differ from 4- button wrist gloves as they
softly follow the curve of the hand, and the opening of the glove barely
touches the wrist. Sweetly feminine, shorties were a staple for
the well dressed women of the past and also considered socially required
day wear until the mid-1960's.
Shorties are beautiful when worn with
cocktail length wedding gowns and can be easily removed during your ceremony
and held by your bridesmaid. Emily Post would be proud of your
ladylike femininity! |
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4-button:
These gloves
are 10 to 11 inches long and cover the wrist, reaching a couple of
inches up onto the forearm.
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6-button:
12 to 13 inches long, these gloves reach well up onto
the forearm. Many "gauntlet" type gloves (i.e., these gloves
with flared arm pieces in the style of equestrian gauntlets) are this
length. A favorite length for daytime wear.
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8-button:
14 to 15 inches long, this type
of glove reaches to the upper forearm. This is also known as the
"three-quarter" length glove, and is the style worn by Audrey
Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
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12-button:
Approximately 18 to 19 inches long, this type of glove
reaches up to and just over the wearer's elbow. Known as
"elbow-length" in common parlance, and many have mousquetaire
wrist openings, but not to be confused with the 16-button "classic"
opera glove.
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16-button:
22 to 23 inches long - this is the classic OPERA
length, and as a general rule comes with the mousquetaire wrist opening.
It commonly ends at mid-bicep.
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21-button:
27 to 29 inches long, this glove generally reaches all
the way to the wearer's armpits. This is possibly the most dramatic
length of glove, and is generally worn only with strapless or sleeveless
evening outfits.
At
Left: Princess Ira
Fürstenburg, dressed in wedding finery, floats in a marriage
gondola down the Grand canal through Venice, Italy.
She wears Italian made white kidskin opera gloves that flare
slightly.
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October 1955 |
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