The gloves come off

Mary looking downcast,
no doubt because she realizes she shouldn't be wearing gloves!

I was both baffled and mildly mortified by the preponderance of glove donning conducted in the hit show Downton Abbey by characters dressing for dinner ... at home!  Had everything I learned about the purpose and use of gloves as a safeguard against the outdoor elements been a sham? Had I missed some vital bit of research that explained why a woman would put on gloves to imbibe champagne or tea in her own drawing room?

It's common knowledge that the creators of the British television drama have gone to exhaustive lengths to represent the period in as historically accurate a way as possible, and a great deal of attention has been placed on properly set tables, fabrics, vocabulary and other niggling details. But the gloves issue threatened to unravel the lace doily on which my etiquette training lay.

Fortunately, the ever gracious Miss Manners came to my aid, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, as one would gleefully expect from that paragon of mannered mirth.  Here's what she has to say about the issue.

"GENTLE READER: The only place where it seems to be traditional for ladies to eat or drink with gloved hands is in costume dramas. In real life, it was always considered crude, not to mention yucky, but in every period film, television show, play and opera, it is evidently intended to add a touch of what passes for “class.” Miss Manners pities the laborers who were taxed with cleaning those gloves afterward. 

You are correct that gloves are worn during dancing, but they had to be removed before touching any refreshments. This was a good argument against drinking when dancing.
It would serve Miss Manners right if, after obeying her strict command to remove your gloves, you handed them to her. You might reasonably point out that ball dresses unaccountably lack pockets, and are cunningly constructed so that gloves placed on them when the wearer is seated slip off the lap, thus requiring the wearer’s unfortunate dinner partner to crawl under the table to fetch them. 

If you cannot cram your gloves into your tiny evening bag, where we hope there is no makeup on the loose, you must hold them with your free hand when eating or drinking while you are standing. At dinner, she suggests surreptitiously sitting on them, but please don’t tell anyone she said so."

Of course, if one's wearing opera gloves and wishes to sip champagne (or surreptitiously snatch a canapé), she can simply unbutton one glove at the mousquetaire wrist opening, free her hand from its constraints and tuck the resultant dangling, empty fingers back inside the glove sleeve, as these elegant, elongated accessories can be a nuisance to fully remove, especially when the elbows of those tugging on glove fingers are too near the eye level of those around them. Once at the dining table, the gloves come off completely.

The following 20th century list, from the booklet Gloves: Fashion and Etiquette, is by Edith Heal and was included with merchandise purchases from Hansen Gloves in the early 1960s. Its rules still stand today, especially when it comes to formal occasions:

DO

• Do wear gloves when you go shopping, visiting, driving; and for outdoor festivities such as garden parties, receptions.
• Do wear gloves as a mark of respect in a place of worship.
• Do wear gloves for formal indoor occasions: receptions, balls, and on arrival at a luncheon or dinner party.
• Do keep gloves on in a receiving line.
• Do keep gloves on while dancing at a formal party.
• Do keep gloves on at a cocktail party until the drinks and hors d’oeuvres are passed. Then turn gloves back at the wrist or remove one glove.
• Do remove gloves entirely at the dining table.
• Do remove gloves after your arrival at an informal party or luncheon, leaving them with your coat. 

DON'T

• Don’t ever appear in public without gloves.
• Don’t eat, drink, or smoke with gloves on.
• Don’t play cards with gloves on.
• Don’t apply makeup with gloves on.
• Don’t wear jewelry over gloves, with the exception of bracelets.
• Don’t make a habit of carrying your gloves ~ they should be considered an integral part of your costume.
• Don’t wear short gloves to a very gala ball, court presentation or ‘White Tie’ affair at the White House or in honor of a celebrity.

For an in-depth look at glove history, as well as a full catalogue of modern styles, visit the haute couture Gaspar Gloves site.

 

Tsk tsk, ladies!