Morning Dress - Gloves

[floatinjoe]

I am looking to purchase gloves to be worn with morning dress for my wedding. I think that Chester Jefferies is among the best places to get them, though I am open to other suggestions. I have several questions:

• What type of leather should I request?
• Which of their styles is the best for daytime formal wear?
• What type of lining, if any, should I request?
• Pros and cons of handsewn gloves verses machine sewn. I think that the stitching along the fingers on the machine sewn gloves looks cleaner, but want to know what you think.
• Are there any special features I should request? (I'm planning on asking for points)

In regards to wedding attire for grooms, Emily Post said:

White buckskin gloves are the smartest, but gray suede are the most conventional. White kid is worn only in the evening. It is even becoming the fashion for ushers at small country weddings not to wear gloves at all! But at every wedding, great or small, city or country, etiquette demands that the groom, best man, and ushers, all wear high silk hats, and that the groom carry a walking stick.

I can't find a reference to buckskin on their page, but it does mention Deerskin (highly probable that they are one in the same). I am open to other suggestions. In regards to color, I will be following the thought that the gloves match the waistcoat, and the waistcoat is creme. However, if I went the deerskin route, I'd want to use the color "Deerskin-Light Tan".

I do think that The Kensington is the smartest looking glove.

Other gloves I've looked at are (in no particular order):

• The Oxford
• The Silvaire
• The Navigator
• The Confidant
• The Jamboree
• Paris
• Mayfair
• The City Gent
• Man About town
• Park Lane
• The Cheltenham
• The Duchess (Appears to be a woman's glove, but looks rather elegant)

Any and all input is appreciated. I have about 11 weeks until the wedding and the handsewn gloves can take up to 6 plus shipping across the Atlantic. With that in mind, I'll probably be ordering in the next week or so.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Mike

[jgmounts]

CJ made a pair for me in grey suede,city gent style and I am very pleased with them.

[floatinjoe]

jgmounts, what made you pick the choices you made? Do your gloves have a lining?

So, any other thoughts? I figured that some folks would have gloves for morning dress, or at least thoughts on the topic.


Mike

[jgmounts]

I chose the syle at random. I just asked for grey suede and CJ sent them.They are unlined.

[storeynicholas]

Yellow chamois gloves used to be the thing and CJ do them but do not heavily advertise them. I have no idea why this is so. But there we are. I now nearly expect an avalanche of protestation against 'rules'.
NJS.

[Digby Snaffles]

Yellow chamois gloves used to be the thing and CJ do them but do not heavily advertise them. I have no idea why this is so. But there we are. I now nearly expect an avalanche of protestation against 'rules'.
NJS.

Isn't a part of good dressing knowing the rules so that you know which ones you may break and how?

[storeynicholas]

Digby,
I always think that having the luxury to break 'rules' depends on how busy you are! I always think that the object is to get the best you can, rather than to fret over innovation for its own sake; but I know that not all agree with this.
NJS

[Costi]

I always think that the object is to get the best you can, rather than to fret over innovation for its own sake; but I know that not all agree with this.
NJS

Well said, Nicholas - and that applies to many things in life, from housekeeping to art. Originality for its own sake and at any cost is the worst enemy of true creativity. When you feel inspired, innovate! When you don't feel inspired, don't force it: "recherche" is not a good style.

[Charlie Huang]

I have several pairs of dress gloves from them. Lemon chamois, grey suede and beige buckskin.





Took me some time to get the fit right.

My advice would be to go for a buttoning wrist in the City Gent style, hand-stitched. An open wrist tends to bulge and gather at the wrists when wearing them and I noticed that the chamois easily rubs off onto the coat's cuffs. Ask for a tighter fit and maybe size down for a skin tight fit. Best to actually buy another glove in the same style and test for fit before telling them what adjustments should be made for the next glove. Or do the bespoke hand tracing.

[rodes]

These gloves are most excellent as are all from CJ. Good craftsmanship and outstanding value. Why does not everyone procure gloves from this firm? I have recently recieved the yellow chamois in the city gent and really like them. Only one problem and it is mine not CJ,they are too fine to wear.

[AndyM]

This winter I decided to use Chester Jefferies hand tracing system and I have the best fitting gloves I have ever owned. I have small hands and long fingers so find it difficult to get a good fit with ready made (and that includes CJ readymade). Also as most people have one hand larger than the other it makes sense to have gloves made to measure, anything else is a compromise. Do members know of other glove makers that do made to measure?

[YoungLawyer]

I'm planning ahead for the races later this year, and thought, looking at the colours on offer at CJ, that a dark wine (cape - Emilion) might be an interesting choice. I'd usually wear a pale blue shirt, darker blue waistcoat, white collar and macclesfield tie, so a bit of subdued colour in gloves (with a red carnation?) might be an interesting alternative to grey, lemon or brown. I can't see a pale enough lavender on their website. On another note, I found a picture of Ascot from 1909, and there were quite a few black gloves being worn.

Who here has used CJ's bespoke tracing service? How much customisation can one ask for - for instance, can you specify how far below the wrist the gloves extend? What about the choice of button? How much does adding a button to the 'city gent' style cost? Most importantly, when doing the tracing, does one trace with the pencil held verticly down (in which case the outline is slightly too large as a result of the diameter of the pencil), or does one try to draw exactly around one's hand? Did it fit well on the first attempt? I'd be tempted to go for unlined, so the fit would need to be quite exact.

In even more detail - how tight do you think the gloves should be around the wrist? I've an Edwardian morning coat, so the sleeves are, compared to modern coats, long and not as narrow. Obviously one's gloves fit inside those sleeves, but how should they interact with the shirt cuffs?

[AndyM]

As far as the tracing goes, I used a slim ballpoint and held it tightly to the edge of the hand and as I said above, they are the best fitting gloves I have ever had. I had the standard city gent model in deerskin with cashmere lining. I can only suggest emailing CJ with your questions and see if they can oblige. As for tightness around the wrist, remember to allow for a wristwatch if you wear one and trace around it.

[YoungLawyer]

I hope to order these this weekend, and will talk to them then. Do you have any suggestions for a choice of leather or thoughts on colour?

I've looked at some Edwardian pictures, and the norm seemed to be gloves that were so well fitted, they fitted inside the shirt cuffs.

Just a thought, but does hand-stiching actually create a cleaner glove?

[AndyM]

Personally I like hand-stitching on a glove but whether it makes for a cleaner glove or not is very much a matter of opinion. As you are considering these for the races later in the year then probably a silk lined capeskin or even sueded finish to add some texture. As for colour, well you can be racy at the races! I think your idea of subdued colour could work very well. My gloves are close fitting at the wrists without me saying anything so you will probably be happy with CJ.

I would be interested to hear how you get on with this idea.