Women's gloves have been worn for nearly three thousand years. The opera length satin glove seems to have evolved in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Queen Elizabeth I was reported to have worn an 18 inch long pair of white leather gauntlets with 2 inches of gold fringe at a ceremony in 1566, not too stuffy for a royal! Over the elbow gloves, as we know them, were first popular and in fashion around the time of Napolean I, although long gloves were making a fashion statement when he was making his military reputation in Italy. From about 1810 sleeves began to grow longer and the length of gloves shorter although long gloves were still customarily worn with evening wear and formal dress until around 1825.

Before the 1870's, gloves tended to be wrist-length for daytime wear, since sleeves on daytime dresses were usually full-length in the Victorian period, and usually were elbow-length or shorter for evening wear. The mousquetaire (french term for gloves) was introduced to America during the 1870's by perhaps the greatest actress of them all, Sarah Bernhardt. Miss Berhardt had very skinny arms so the long mousquetaire she wore on stage flattered her arms and hands and drew attention to their expressive movements whenever she was on stage. Miss Bernhardt was a great lover of gloves and because of that she was responsible for making them very popular to the woman of the day.

Today's gloves range from opera length to wrist length and can be made out of satin, sheer mesh, or stretch lace materials, a timeless accessory which adds elegance to any wardrobe. The elegant gloves of yesterday are coming back into style and you can see many woman wearing them as an accessory to their evening wear. During the upcoming Holiday Season check out how many woman are bringing back these elegant accessories. They are beautiful, elegant, and will add style to any woman's wardrobe.