Gloves: sizing, etiquette and all other stuff

[gwenners]

Hey gang,

Two questions, both related:

1. Does anyone know of some good places for gloves? I'm mainly looking for a good pair of era-specific women's driving gloves, but I could also use just a "'round town" pair as well.

2. Does anyone know anything about sizing these? I'm wary of buying off of eBay or such without having a concept of vintage glove sizing. So much that's in the stores today seems to just me S-M-L-XL or even "One Size." This doesn't much help when one is looking at older sizing.

Cheers,
Gwen Smith

 

[ITG]

I've wondered about sizing too. I keep seeing sizes on ebay for vintage gloves that look much like hat sizes...6 3/4, 7, etc. Is that measured by the wrist measurement?

 

[LaMedicine]

I'm not sure about vintage sizing, but present day sizes for gloves are determined by measuring across your palm. The circumference of the palm at the base of your four fingers, above your thumb. In my part of of the world, it's in centimeters, e.g. 20=S. 21=M, 22=L, if my memory is correct. Accordingly, in the US and GB, and elsewhere where the unit is in inches, I would deduce that 6 3/4, 7. would mean inches.
Incidentally, the conversion from centimeter to inch is, 2.54cm=1in.
Would this be of any help?

 

[ITG]

Oh thanks for that bit of info...I'd be an 8. Good thing I didn't bid on a recent ebay auction of size 7 vintage gloves.

 

[BettyValentine]

Gloves: care and where to find

Does anyone know of a good source for vintage-esque hats? I absolutely adore hats, but I tend to have problems with vintage hats. My head is 24" around and more oblong than round and I have yet to find something that fits. (I had to special-order all my riding helmets.) I also like to wear wigs a lot, which only compounds the problem. Does anyone else have this problem?

Actually... I have the same problem with gloves and shoes. Gloves are a huge problem. I'm an 8 in modern gloves, but they usually don't fit because I have extra long fingers compared to my already giant palms. (I wear men's riding gloves.)

Is there anything I can do to find cute dainty accessories for extremities that are not so dainty? Does anyone make their own?

BV - (Only once did I ever see gloves that fit me. A woman brought her late aunt's gloves to the theater and they were perfect and pristine. I could have cried when they went into Stock and not into my pocket.)

 

[maisie]

As for gloves, over here in England there are loads of modern leather gloves in nice colours, and they would be a modern size to, so i can only assume shops over in the USA might have the same thing? Also if you know someone who can crochet you could get them to make dainty summer gloves in a variety of colours?
For hats you do some times come across big sizes, but alot of the hats from the 40's were 'Toy Doll' hats that would pearch on the front of your head and so would fit a range of sizes.

Hope this helps!

 

[colleency]

Where do you live? There's a really great hat shop in Fullerton, CA, but I don't think they have an online shop.

 

[USO Gal]

I am right there with you. I am not so much of a dainty girl...

I wear a 7.5 hat size (at least) and have basically found that 40s tilt hats are the way to go.

They were designed more to sit on top of the head rather than wrap around it (if that makes sense). I also have a couple of great headband style hats that fulfill my love of hats while not having to go around my big melon.

On gloves... I have nothing for you. I have been hunting for gloves for a while. My problem is sort of opposite - short fingers. I cringe when I think of all the lovely cotton and silk and leather gloves from my grandmothers that I destroyed playing dressup as a girl. If I could just go back in time and save a couple of pairs!

Shoes.... let's not even go there (size 11 here = no real vintage shoes for me :cry: )

 

[Serina]

I bought a wonderful 1920's style hat today from Marks and Spencers. Not a bad find for ?Ǭ£15.00 so I'm very pleased with it.

http://www.marksandspencer.com/IWCa...rchant_Id=1&Product_Id=1896795&portal=locayta

 

[Rosie]

Cleaning vintage gloves help

Hi ladies. I just purchased a lot of gloves off ebay and most of them are wonderful. There is a pair that are ivory, feels like a thick nubby cotton, not sure of the fabric, very cute, with pintucks on the back and scalloped at the wrist and they are stained. I washed them using ivory soap and they are brighter but, there are still a few stains on the fingertips and a bit of yellowing on one of the palms. I was going to dilute some Tide and try scrubbing them very carefully with a very soft toothbrush but, I'm not sure if I should do that. Can these be saved? What suggestions do you ladies have? Thanks in advance. -Rosie

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I am a fan of Fels-Naptha soap, which can still be purchased in cake form at Target and grocery stores (it's actually recommended by the Queen of Clean for sweat stains). It's great for tough stains and is excellent for vintage clothing. Borax is another vintage product used for brightening laundry as well, and may be worth trying.

I would imagine that your vintage gloves will hold up fine, even with modern detergent and using a toothbrush to give them a scrub, as I find them to be very sturdy in general.

 

[Rosie]

Thanks so much Jitterbugdoll, I'll get those soaps and try a light scrubbing, I'm just afraid. Thanks again!

 

[decodoll]

If those don't do it, you may try a soak in Oxy-Clean. I recently bought a white deadstock blouse that came looking like it had been sitting out getting dusty for the past 60 years. I soaked it in Oxy-Clean and it came out sparkling. At the moment, I'm drying a suit jacket that I bought and didn't notice until I got home that the underarms reeked! So far so good. I can't smell a thing. Let's hope it stays that way once dry. It turned the water a gross orangey-brown colour. Dry cleaning only seemed to make the smell worse. *BLECH*

 

[CherryRed]

If those don't do it, you may try a soak in Oxy-Clean. I recently bought a white deadstock blouse that came looking like it had been sitting out getting dusty for the past 60 years. I soaked it in Oxy-Clean and it came out sparkling. At the moment, I'm drying a suit jacket that I bought and didn't notice until I got home that the underarms reeked! So far so good. I can't smell a thing. Let's hope it stays that way once dry. It turned the water a gross orangey-brown colour. Dry cleaning only seemed to make the smell worse. *BLECH*

I swear by Oxy-Clean when cleaning vintage doll clothes.
I have seen that orange-brown color many times.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I have used Oxy-Clean, too. And Borax is also good for removing odor--you soak the item in it, much like you would Oxy-Clean.

 

[Vanessa]

Is oxy-clean only for whites?

 

[jitterbugdoll]

It's color safe.

 

[fortworthgal]

Another big fan of Oxy-Clean here!

Just yesterday I picked up a 1940s "Inspector" ballcap from Consolidated Vultee Corporation - really neat! Unfortunately it had been stored in a box of tools in a garage and was coated in dirt and filth. I took it home and soaked it in cold water and Oxyclean. The water turned practically black. I rinsed it and repeated it again, then rinsed and hung it up to dry. The hat has returned to the original bright red color and has no odors at all.

 

[Rosie]

Wow great

You know, I have some oxy-clean, my sister sent me some but [huh] I've never used it. I am home today, so, I'm going to try it right now. Crossing my fingers. Thanks a lot ladies, I'll let you know how they turn out.

 

[Rosie]

Thanks so much for everyone's help!

My gloves came out a lot brighter than I thought they would. Thank you again ladies and rest assured I'll bug you all again in the future when I need help.