Saturday, October 16, 2010

What kind of gloves??? Long? Short? Fingerless?

Dear ESB,

So this is my dress. (Look at the alternate view-- the main image looks crazy.) It's cream.

And after the ceremony I want to wear something that looks like this. That's not me, and that's not my fur, but I don't have a photograph and it's kind of close. It's a mink pocket stole. Light brownish grey.

The wedding is in January, and I want to wear gloves. I need your help. What kind of gloves??? Long? Short? Fingerless? I like how other people's hands look in gloves, but mine look like stumpy kid hands when I wear them. The fingers are slightly too long or they are baggy and it's the opposite of cute.

So help. Please.

*****

At what point will you be wearing the gloves? On your carriage ride to the church?

30 comments:

  1. You are such a bitch ESB, where do you get off?

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  2. Yeah, ESB, not cool. If you don't want to give practical advice, why post the question at all? So your taste in fashion differs from hers, she's asking for help, either give it or don't. You know the saying about nothing nice to say...
    As for the person who addressed the question, if you think you hands look weird in gloves, maybe none of the types are right for you.

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  3. I HEART gloves, and have forever freezing hands, so I can't do winter nights without them. Totally endorse your classy idea of post-wedding stole and gloves ensemble (as long as the stole is a vintage one and the minks died a long time ago before people cared about animal rights - I don't endorse killing ickle baby minkies).

    Gloves which are low-cut at the wrist are the most flattering. If the cut is too high it hides the slimmest part of the wrist. Get something slightly smaller rather than slightly too big, in a shade lighter than your stole, made of kid leather - very thin, very soft. Urban Outfitters have had a pretty good range of cool gloves which cute button details - ideally you want with one button at the base of the wrist then a little cut-out peep hole - does my description make sense?? Rather than a row of buttons.

    Or you might even have luck at a more traditional, old-fashioned, old-lady type store or counter at a department store. Somewhere where you can buy silk embroidered handkerchiefs and stuff grandmas like. I bet you could find a really helpful old lady store clerk who has spent the past 40 years selling gloves to people!

    Hope this helps! I'm not American so I can't reccommend any specific stores.

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  4. Ouch, ESB you are being a cranky pants.
    I would recommend ivory gloves -- either some short, vintage lace ones if you can find them, or short leather gloves. I think it's the long gloves that can get princess-y.
    Vintage gloves also tend to run smaller so that might help your sizing problem. If you buy new, you might try kids sizes.

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  5. If you guys didn't want tough love, you wouldn't write in ;)

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  6. Perhaps this was not the best wedding blog for this particular question...

    I forgot my gloves at home in haste to get to my wedding. I was sorry, because I think gloves can be very beautiful - mine were vintage kid opera length with tiny mother of pearl buttons and they were lovely and classic. They are not everyone's style to be sure, but I loved them. If you don't feel comfortable with gloves, I say ditch the idea. Don't wear anything you don't feel great in. But if you're interested in trying them out, here are a few guidelines, which you should feel free to ignore/break:

    - for a daytime, afternoon, or informal wedding, check out wrist length or elbow length gloves. Vintage wrist-length gloves that are kid or crocheted cotton are lovely and easily found for a song on eBay or etsy.
    - for evening weddings, opera-length gloves are beautiful with a strapless dress and are best if the wedding is somewhat formal. Again, ebay is a goldmine.
    - you can have gloves custom made for your measurements online. There are quite a few places that do this, so google around. These are obviously going to be more expensive, running you $100 - $200, so that's something to keep in mind if you're on a budget. Vintage ones are much cheaper but cut very, very small, so make sure you get measurements from the seller before buying.
    - Please, please don't wear satin gloves or I will have a PTSD episode.
    - Same with fingerless unless they are leather and black and you are planning to fuck some shit up, in which case that would be really cool.
    - if you end up wear gloves, take them off before you eat anything. Most long gloves have buttons which will allow you fold back the hand part of the gloved and tuck it into your wrist, allowing you to eat, put on your ring, etc.

    EDB is going to barf when she reads this, but some people like to kick it old school. I had to represent, yo. xoxox

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  7. @WPM I thought of you five minutes ago and thought, shit, if anybody could pull off a pair of gloves it's What Possessed Me.

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  8. Remains to be seen, but still pissed I shelled out for that shit and never got to rock them like a hurricane. Maybe when I'm invited to be the Princess of Monaco or whatnot.

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  9. @WPM or... Williamsburg? With the right outfit?

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  10. Maybe what ESB needs is some awesome glove inspiration. No one likes Cinderella, everyone loves kick ass women with fashion sense. Remains to be seen for those of us without (likeme).

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  11. aaaahahaha @esb.

    i was trying to think of some nice glove advice. but basically you said "my hands look like shit in gloves, sooo what kind of gloves should i wear"?

    ..no gloves

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  12. I remember ESB herself once said not to trust her fashion advice. I took that to mean that I shouldn't take her seriously all the time. Duh...this is ESB. If I had asked this question, I would take this pithy response as a funny highlight to the day and then just decide the glove issue by myself. Try on multiple gloves and see what goes and what feels comfortable. I like WPM's advice. (also, I have a feeling that being insulted on ESB is kind of like that part in Mean Girls when that loser girl says "One time, she punched me in the face. It was AWESOME!" about Regina George).

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  13. gee, esb... you really know how to bring the sensitive sally out in everyone. ;)

    dear bride,

    my hands look pretty stupid in gloves too. the solution? i don't wear gloves. not every look works for every person. if you're going for that vintage feel, why not go all out and get a vintage mink hand warmer/muff (i hate calling them that)? it would be just as chic, and completely unexpected. also, consider that they're way easier to slip in and out of than gloves. trying to do practically anything in gloves (eating, cutting a cake, reapplying lipstick) is nearly impossible.

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  14. ESB, I had a nice laugh. Great answer. Dear bride, if you have sausage fingers, do not wear gloves. get yourself a nice fur or something.

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  15. DUDE ! TOTALLY CUNTY ANSWER ! HILARIOUS TO ME ON THIS GRUMPY-HUNGOVER MORNING !

    but seriously, if you have small fingers, LUCKY YOU ! that means you can go to vintage stores and try on all the gloves that i can't. P mentioned NO SHINY SATINY GLOVES, and i second that, and then want to add lace gloves are also out of the question with that dress. (obvs)

    personally, i think an opera glove is over the top, unless you are having a HUGE ORDEAL of a wedding. i wore a dress with a similar cut to a winter event (though it was black and not lacey) and my grandmothers elbow length gloves looked absolutely stunning. also, i didn't wear them the entire time -- just long enough to make an entrance and look fabulous.

    and one more thing. if you wear fingerless gloves i will beat you.

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  16. I wear gloves with some regularity and get great joy out of them; in fact, I have been known to crash Mother's Day teas in order to don them. Due to the ring bit, however, I would be unlikely to wear them to my own wedding. But P's guidance is sterling if you do.

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  17. bearing in mind that this bride-to-be and i probably have little in common fashionwise, i feel no discussion of gloves would be complete without some uncle karl. given how traditional your dress and your...pelt are going to be, o BTB, i suggest you skew hypermodern. or madonna-circa-like-a-virgin, which would be objectively amazing.

    regards,
    LMO
    PSohmygodpleasenofur

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  18. Wear the gloves, lose the dead animal.

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  19. HA! @17 beats, you're my hero for busting out the C-word. Way to take it back!!

    And yeah, I probably wouldn't have asked ESB this question - she's more the fingerless, leather type :-)

    Do whatever you want - try on a bunch of styles *with* the dress and take photos. Buy the pair that makes you feel the foxiest (or classiest, whichever you're shooting for). No matter what you get, if you're happy and feel like you look amazing, everyone will think so, too. If they don't think so, fuck 'em. It's your wedding.

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  20. Here's the great thing about gloves... when you're dancing with people you don't have to worry about sweaty hands. That's why I always prefer to wear gloves when I go swing dancing or to my Victorian era balls.

    If you're going to go gloves, I say go edgy and wear some awesome vintage gloves in a bold color like teal or charcoal gray or burgundy or something really fun and wintry. Then it will look much more like a fashion statement and less like early 90s prom.

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  21. That dress is really beautiful, and I love Jim Hjelm, his dresses are made in the USA and are high quality fabrics. I personally think the dress makes enough of a statement, and the fur wrap will give you the (I assume) winter-vintage look you're going for already. Gloves would kind of send the whole thing over the top and make you look a little costumey. And if you don't feel totally comfortable in gloves, then they're not going to make you look more beautiful because they'll distract you- and detract from your "wedding-day-glow". My opinion is to skip the gloves. Besiiiides...you'll want to be able to see your beautiful new wedding ring!! Don't cover it up!

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  22. @WPM
    I have to say, my grandmother did give me some some satin-y gloves from back in the day, and I'm keeping them. They do have the button wrists. Wearing them is another story, but maybe when I go with you to dinner with the Princess of Monaco.

    And I'm going to say that I do LIKE a good vintage fur. I mean, the animals are long dead, and boy are they nice and snuggly. I have one made by my great gradfather out of squirrels. True story, the end.

    PS I'm not endorsing wedding gloves or wedding furs, but I do like them both in abstract.

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  23. Ahhhhhahahaha!

    This is why I can't stay away from this site. Pure comedy gold genius.

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  24. So I wrote in with the question. Cringing a little (a lot) in embarrassment. But actually very thankful for the candid advice. I did know what I was getting into.

    To clarify- that mink has been dead for at least 50 years. I'm anti-fur, but it's in the family & beautiful & warm.

    Also, it's January, and my hands will freeze. I'm hoping for a lot of outdoor pictures, and gloved hands > numb hands. So thanks especially to those of you who didn't assume I have Cinderella delusions but just cold hands.

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  25. You're not a bitch.

    Here's my response:
    http://memelodia.blogspot.com/2010/10/long-short-fingerless.html

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  26. What about these?

    http://bit.ly/bBI4xk

    Or, with a sense of humor:

    http://bit.ly/bpMGQe

    Or, if you live in the arctic tundra of MN like me:

    http://www.sheepskincountrystore.com/images/larger/mittens.jpg

    And maybe even (warm toes are even better than warm hands):

    http://bit.ly/dh24GD

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  27. Gilt Group is having a bridal sale today on long gloves - Most of them are going for about $30 while they retail for $70 - $100. If you aren't a member and you'd wanna take a look you can email me, nvaccese@gmail.com and I'll invite you.

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  28. ALSO - I'm heartbroken that these white crocheted fingerless wrist gloves are sold out in ivory, but you could go for some color with the berry:
    http://www.tulle4us.com/Tulle/accessories/LA33/

    Or these would keep you warm and come in a few different colors:
    http://www.tulle4us.com/Tulle/accessories/MA73/

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