Gloves

When Should You Wear Gloves?

Whenever your hands start doing their job slower. Fingers lose warmth faster than any other part of the body because they are thin and far from the core, so a commute, a dog walk or a long wait on a platform in fall is reason enough. Put gloves on before your hands feel cold, since warm hands stay warm far longer than cold ones warm back up. Indoors the old etiquette still serves well: take gloves off to shake hands, to eat and to try something on, and a long dress glove is the style worn into a room for the evening. A long glove meets the cuff of a coat or slides up under a sleeve, so no strip of wrist is left out in the wind. Mild fall days call for a thin knit you can stuff into a pocket, and deep winter for a longer cuff that tucks under the coat sleeve.

Full Fingers or Fingerless Gloves?

Full-finger gloves win on a bitter morning and lose every time you need to unlock a door. Fingerless gloves cover the palm, the back of the hand and the wrist, where most of the warmth that reaches your fingers travels, and leave the tips bare for buttons, a zipper, a camera or knitting needles. A fingerless pair with a thumb slit and enough length to tuck into a coat sleeve keeps the wrist covered, and a deep ribbed cuff takes that warmth further up the arm. Choose fingerless when your hands are busy, and full fingers when they are mostly in your pockets. Layered over a thin full glove, a fingerless pair adds warmth across the palm on the coldest days without stealing any grip.

Washing Cashmere and Alpaca Gloves

Cashmere and alpaca feel alike and are cleaned differently, so check the label before the first wash. Cashmere gloves often ask for dry cleaning, while alpaca usually goes into cold water by hand with a mild detergent, then gets reshaped while wet and dried flat. Whatever the fiber, never dry gloves on a radiator or in a dryer, because direct heat shrinks and stiffens natural fiber in minutes. Between wears, store them flat, since a glove hung by its cuff slowly stretches the rib, and air a damp pair overnight before it goes back into a drawer. If fingertips pick up a little fuzz, a sweater comb lifts it off gently, and alpaca is generally slower to pill than most knitting yarns.

Cashmere and alpaca beanies to match are in Hats & Caps, and silk squares and cashmere wraps for the neck sit in Scarves & Wraps.