SARTORIAL WORLD

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19834, 25 June 1934, Page 12

SARTORIAL WORLD

PROMINENCE OF GLOVES. The prominent position at present occupied by gloves in the sartorial world recalls the fact that, after all, their history is one of considerable antiquity, and that in olden days they were inseparably associated with romance. From time immemorial, indeed, the glove has played an important symbolic part in affairs of love and honour. Hearken back to the days of chivalry, when a glove was worn in the hat or cap as a token of fair lady’s favour or in memory of a friend; when, his honour affronted, the gallant knight would straightway throw down the glove to his detractor, who, if he picked it up, accepted the challenge. Imagine, too, the mournful secrets which the beautifully embroidered gloves of the unfortunate Queen Mary.» presented by her to a friend on the morning of her execution, and preserved to this day, might recall. How many thrilling tales of love and intrigue could those gloves, ‘‘as sweet as damask roses,” dear to the heart of Queen Elizabeth, whisper in our ears! Ana a pretty penny those expensive trifles must have cost, for Good Queen Bess was as extravagant, fastidious ana capricious in her choice of gloves as in all other matters relating to the Royal wardrobe. Ann Boleyn, too, was marvellously dainty about her gloves. The one flaw in her breathtaking loveliness was a finger-nail which turned up at the side, and Queen Katherine used to take a malicious delight in making her play at cards, without her gloves, in the presence of King Hal. The Influence of the glove has not, however, oeen confined to affairs of the heart. In Oriental countries the glove has, from the most ancient times, possessed a legal significance in conneci tion with the transfer of property, the handmg over of a pair of gloves being the recognised token of investiture. This custom is very similar to one in vogue among the ancient Jews, who exchanged a shot or sandal when property was transferred. In former times gloves were frequently offered to friends as New Year gifts. It is related that Sir Thomas More, as Lord Chancellor, had decreed in favour of ‘‘Mrs Crooker” in the law courts. On the following New Year’s Day, as a mark of her gratitude, the successful litigant sent to Sir Thomas a pair of gloves containing forty "angels.” “It would be against good manners,” said the Chancellor, “to foresake the lady’s New Year gift, and I accept the gloves; the lining you may bestow elsewhere.” “Glove money,” in the form of a pair of white gloves, is even to-day presented to a judge on the occasion of a maiden assize—a regrettably infrequent occurrence. The ancient Persians wore gloves, and the Romans, tow'ard the decline of the Empire, also began to use them. Recent proof of their antiquity is provided by the discovery of gloves in the tomb of Tutankhamen, and they were introduced into England at a very early period. In Anglo-Saxon literature we meet with “glof,” a “covering for the hand.” and In the illuminated manuscripts of those times, the hands of bishops and other dignitaries are shown encased in gloves, which, in many instances, were ornamented with costly rings. Again, on tne tombs of kings and queens, the hands are shown almost invariably covered. For many hundreds of years, however, gloves were a luxury which only the wealthy classes could afford. Gloves for my lady, richly ornamented, Beautifully embroidered, sweetly scented. These lines were running through my head as, In my recent wanderings around the departmental store, that typical twentieth century creation, I passed before the glove counter. “What sort of gloves were you wanting?” the girl asked. “Gloves, as sweet as damask roses,” fancy prompted, but, with a due regard for a none too elastic purse, I stifled the impulse. “Woollens, at 4/11,” I replied.