Glove (clothing)
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb.
If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless gloves having one small opening rather than individual openings for each finger are sometimes called gauntlets, though gauntlets are not necessarily fingerless.
Gloves that cover the entire hand or fist but do not have separate finger openings or sheaths are called mittens. Mittens are warmer than other styles of gloves made of the same material because fingers maintain their warmth better when they are in contact with each other; reduced surface area reduces heat loss.
A hybrid of glove and mitten contains open-ended sheaths for the four fingers (as in a fingerless glove, but not the thumb) and an additional compartment encapsulating the four fingers. This compartment can be lifted off the fingers and folded back to allow the individual fingers ease of movement and access while the hand remains covered. The usual design is for the mitten cavity to be stitched onto the back of the fingerless glove only, allowing it to be flipped over (normally held back by Velcro or a button) to transform the garment from a mitten to a glove. These hybrids are called convertible mittens or glittens, a combination of "glove" and "mittens".
Gloves protect and comfort hands against cold or heat, damage by friction, abrasion or chemicals, and disease; or in turn to provide a guard for what a bare hand should not touch. Latex, nitrile rubber, or vinyl disposable gloves are often worn by health care professionals as hygiene and contamination protection measures. Police officers often wear them to work in crime scenes to prevent destroying evidence in the scene. Many criminals wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints, which makes the crime investigation more difficult. However, the gloves themselves can leave prints that are just as unique as human fingerprints. After collecting glove prints, law enforcement can then match them to gloves that they have collected as evidence. In many jurisdictions, the act of wearing gloves itself while committing a crime can be prosecuted as an inchoate offense.
Fingerless gloves are useful where dexterity is required that gloves would restrict. Cigarette smokers and church organists sometimes use fingerless gloves. Some gloves include a gauntlet that extends partway up the arm. Cycling gloves for road racing or touring are usually fingerless. Guitar players may also use fingerless gloves in circumstances where it is too cold to play with an uncovered hand.
Gloves are made of materials including cloth, knitted or felted wool, leather, rubber, latex, neoprene, silk, and metal (as in mail). Gloves of kevlar protect the wearer from cuts. Gloves and gauntlets are integral components of pressure suits and spacesuits such as the Apollo/Skylab A7L which went to the Moon. Spacesuit gloves combine toughness and environmental protection with a degree of sensitivity and flexibility.
Lady's Fashion
Main article: Evening glove
Western lady's gloves for formal and semi-formal wear come in three lengths: wrist ("matinee"), elbow, and opera or full-length (over the elbow, reaching to the biceps). Satin and stretch satin are popular and mass-produced. Some women wear gloves as part of "dressy" outfits, such as for church and weddings. Long white gloves are common accessories for teenage girls attending formal events such as prom, debutante, cotillion, or formal ceremonies at church, such as confirmation.
Leather dress gloves
Leather is a natural product with special characteristics that make it comfortable to wear, and give it great strength and flexibility. Because it is a natural product, with its own unique variations, every piece has its own individual characteristics. As they are worn and used, leather gloves (especially if they fit snugly) will conform to the wearer's hand. As this occurs the leather of the glove will become more malleable, and thus softer and more supple. This process is known as 'breaking-in' the glove. Overtime wear spots may appear on certain parts of the palm and fingertips, due to the constant use of those areas of the glove. Creases and wrinkles will appear on the palm side of the leather glove and will generally correspond to the locations of the hinge joints of the wearer's hands, including the interphalangeal articulations of hand, metacarpophalangeal joints, intercarpal articulations, and wrists.
Because the leather is natural as well as delicate, the wearer must take precaution as to not damage them. The constant handling of damp or wet surfaces will discolor lighter-colored gloves and stiffen the leather of any glove. The wearer will often unknowingly damage or stain their gloves while doing such tasks as twisting a wet door knob or wiping a running nose with a gloved hand.[29]
Leather dress gloves that are worn very tight and possess very short, elasticized wrists, are most often referred to as cop gloves or law enforcement gloves because of their prevalence as issued duty gloves for many law enforcement agencies. It is common attire in leather subculture and BDSM communities.
- Lambskin is widely used for fashion gloves and it is casual and country gloves. It is the most used material for gloves made in Europe in the known as French style.
- Cowhide is often used for lower-priced gloves. This leather is generally considered too thick and bulky for the majority of glove styles, particularly finer dress gloves. It is, however, used for some casual styles of glove.
- Deerskin has the benefit of great strength and elasticity, but has a more rugged appearance, with more grain on the surface, than "hairsheep". It is very hard-wearing and heavier in weight.
- Goatskin is occasionally used for gloves. It is hard-wearing but coarser than other leathers and is normally used for cheaper gloves.
- Hairsheep originates from sheep that grow hair, not wool. Hairsheep leather is finer and less bulky than other leathers. Its major benefits are softness of touch, suppleness, strength, and lasting comfort. It is very durable and is particularly suited for the manufacture of dress gloves.
- Peccary is the world's rarest and most luxurious gloving leather. Peccary leather is very soft, difficult to sew, and hard-wearing.[30]
- Sheepskin, also called shearling, is widely used for casual and country gloves. It is very warm in cold weather, and as a leather reversed, it has still attached wool on the inside.
- Slink lamb is used only in the most expensive lambskin gloves. Some of the finest lambskin comes from New Zealand.
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