Categories
Accessories Basic Style Guides Gloves Underwear

Buying Men’s Winter Gloves: A Guide (B)

Gloves are a must-have during the cold winter time. They keep you warm, they make sure you can throw a snowball and they can add some style to your outfits.

To have a great experience with your gloves, there are a few things you can have in mind when purchasing gloves, both on and offline. The fabric, the color and the style are the three main elements that can narrow down the search and help you find just the perfect gloves for you.

In this guide, we take a look at these three elements and discuss how you can make the best of each. You can choose what is right for you and leave out what is not.

 

 

Fabric

A pair of cashmere fingerless Rag & Bone gloves

The fabric of your clothes and accessories is always essential. A good fabric does not only feel better, but it also adjusts better to your body, there is no risk of itches or burnings (unless, of course, you are allergic to it), and it looks great. When it comes to gloves, the most common quality fabrics are leather and wool. Of course, you will find gloves in a series of other fabrics and, as long as they are natural or made from materials designed for winter activities, you can pick whatever looks and feels right and falls into your budget.

Just like any other accessory, a pair of gloves made from a good material will last longer, it will look just as amazing on the first day of winter and on the last and will keep you warm, which is, of course, essential.

Be prepared to spend a little more on a pair of quality gloves. A good fabric and a good design don’t come too cheap, but the pay is worth it, as, if you buy a pair of poorly made gloves from a synthetic material, they will keep you cold instead of warm, which defeats the purpose of a glove and they might break fast too.

 

 

Color

A pair of Paul Smith gloves

The color of your gloves is a very important aspect during the winter time. For best sartorial experiences, make sure that the gloves you wear fit well with the rest of your wardrobe. If you wear, only let’s say neon clothes, it’s pointless to have muted gloves. If you have a very varied wardrobe, you can either go for a solid neutral or for a neutral print. In fashion, neutral colors are a series of colors that go with any print, pattern or color. These are black, white, beige, gray, ivory, khaki, tan, brown, dark blue, etc.
If you buy a pair of gloves in any of these colors you can match it to anything. If you wish to include your gloves in a color scheme, you can learn how to coordinate the colors of your clothes and use the color wheel to easily create very effective color schemes. If you want to wear two prints, regardless of whether they are neutral or not, remember that for two prints to go together well, they must be of different sizes: for example, thick lines can be matched to thin lines. The same rule applies to dots, paisley and everything else.

 

 

Style

The style of your gloves is a very important aspect when it comes to these winter accessories. When you are choosing your gloves, you should always keep in mind the following:

1. Your gloves should work with the rest of your wardrobe. If you only have suits and ties, a Hello Kitty pair of gloves might be hard to incorporate in an outfit created from the clothes found in your wardrobe.

2. Think of the settings where you will be wearing your gloves. Do your outdoors winter activities imply skiing and snowboarding or are they trips to the Christmas market and the opera? Each occasion requires a different type of gloves, so make sure you consider this aspect.

3. Consider how often you will need to take your gloves off. This might sound a little weird, but in today’s world we need our bare hands a lot. Mittens for example are not the best choice if you need to do many things with your fingers when wearing gloves, as they are quite restrictive. If you are one who needs their touch-screen phone a lot, you might consider a pair of no-finger gloves or a pair of gloves that features special fabric elements attached to the fingers that allow you to scroll through your phone even with your gloves on.

 

Let’s take a look at the main different styles of gloves and see what they are all about.

 

Classic gloves

Full gloves are probably the most elegant, the most versatile and the most practical gloves you can find. This classic style can be worn at the theater just as well as on the ski slope. Depending on your preferences, you can get leather gloves or knit gloves. Leather gloves are usually more elegant and go better with suits and dress boots, while knit gloves are usually more appropriate for casual outfits, and can be worn with sports boots as well as with dress boots.

 

Sports gloves

A great leather pair of Marc by Marc Jacobs gloves

Sports gloves are a category of their own. These gloves are more about function than style. They are the gloves you want to have if you go skiing or snowboarding, as they are made for this kind of activities, and feature fabrics made to resists in diverse weather conditions and to adapt to different types of movement.

Some sport gloves are made from polyester, spandex, and fleece and provide both warmth and dexterity. Most sports gloves are made by professionals, which is why they can use synthetic materials and still keep warm. Faux leather and faux wool won’t keep you warm.

Sports gloves usually come in bright colors, such as neon pink or green, as they are made to be noticed on the slope or on the ground if you happen to lose one while you skate.

 

Mittens

A pair of Jack Spade convertible Mittens

Mittens are a childhood reminder and the mark of a childlike personality. These gloves are perfect to be worn on casual urban occasions and are generally made from wool. Mittens are often colorful and therefore perfect for someone who likes to bring color to the cold season through their clothes.

 

Fingerless gloves

A pair of Band of Outsiders knit fingerless gloves

Fingerless gloves are a great alternative to both mittens and full gloves. They allow you more movement and to feel warm while engaging in more detailed movements that require your fingers. As we said earlier, they are a good option for those who check their phones a lot, especially if you have a phone that features a touch screen technology. Many people feel that fingerless gloves are bringing both freedom and warmth and this is what makes them such a special category.

 

 

Additional information

When you are buying gloves, you should always check how many layers the pair of gloves you wish to buy has. You should always consider the layers in relation with how cold it is where you are and with how warm you usually get. More layers can mean too much warmth for some. Some gloves feature three layers, consisting of a waterproof outer shell, followed by an insulation layer and a third, inner liner that can reject moisture. This kind of three-layer gloves are perfect for outdoor activities.

For casual and dress gloves, you can opt for a pair that features only two layers (the outer shell and the lining) and sometimes only one.

Moreover, when you are trying gloves on, make sure you check not only if it fits right on the fingers, but if they fir right on the wrist as well. Let it sit for a few minutes and you will be able to tell whether they are too tight, too loose or just right.

 

Now that you have the basic tools for purchasing gloves, there is nothing stopping you from getting your hands on the right pair for you. Once your hands are in the right pair of gloves, winter can start…

 

 

Fraquoh and Franchomme

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. What type of gloves do you like? Do you prefer classic gloves or funny mittens? What colors do you opt for during the winter time? Share your thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook or Twitter!

 

7 replies on “Buying Men’s Winter Gloves: A Guide (B)”

I love the designs and finger gloves because it allows me to touch things easily. I also wanted to know if you can show some style of women clothing that are trendy for winter season.

Hi Sarah! If you like mittens, go for them! There’s nothing like wearing something with confidence!

Dear Casey K.,

That might be needed sometimes, but usually, good gloves should get you warm pretty quickly (especially if you try them on in a warm-temperature store).

F&F

Your Comment and Input

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.