The old saw about losing the majority of your body heat through your head has been disproven. The reality is that you lose the same amount of heat through any exposed skin on your body — so if your hands are bare, you’re also losing heat. While sport gloves or work gloves preserve your digital dexterity with thick lining, waterproofed exteriors, and reinforced palms, “streetwear” gloves rarely combine good looks with effective thermal protection. Generally speaking, you’ve got a choice between chunky knitted mitts that don’t pair well with grown-up fashion, or driving gloves made from thin, unlined leather that are pretty to look at but impractical in the cold.
If you’re out there suffering from frostbitten fingers, we’re here to help. It’s time for you to discover the world of dress gloves. Made for the style-conscious urbanite who isn’t above nodding to trends, the category of dress gloves is narrow, but the offerings are broad and inclusive. You can find dress gloves at online outlets like Huckberry as well as department stores like Bergdorf Goodman — basically, wherever you shop for quality goods. And if you want pieces to go with your leather gloves, check out our Black Friday fashion deals.
Best Men’s Leather Gloves
Top Pick: ELMA Winter Leather Gloves for Men
Made with fleece and cashmere lining, these gloves offer style, warmth, functionality, and staggering quality. The lustrous beauty of the leather exterior gives you a smooth touch that’s also slip-resistant and has a great grip for steering wheels and smartphones. They are also versatile — they can be worn with casual, business, and formal attire.
Classy Casual: Best Made Co. Lined Deerskin Roper Gloves
Elegant and functional in equal measure, the sustainably harvested deerskin of these gloves offers a luxuriously soft feel, but also supple resilience in the face of hard work. Seamless palm construction minimizes abrasion, while fleece lining and shirred wrists guarantee warmth and comfort.
Work-Ready: Carhartt Insulated System 5 Driver Work Gloves
If fine materials make you a little nervous, pop your mitts into these function-forward dress gloves. Sturdy and thick without being overly bulky, the pebbled leather of these gloves provides exceptional traction for whatever you put your hand to.
Heavy-Duty: Wells Lamont Leather Work Gloves
Keep your hands safe with Wells Lamont’s Leather Work Gloves, which are made from 100% grain cowhide. They’re puncture-resistant and have great grip and durability, so you can use these for any heavy-duty work at home.
Phone Friendly: WARMEN Men’s Leather Gloves
Can’t keep your hands off your phone? These breathable Nappa leather gloves are embedded with nanotechnology, enabling precision touchscreen control for all ten fingers and even the palm. As if that weren’t enough, the fleece lining and knitted cuff provide reliable warmth and comfort.
Form-Fitting: Mechanix Wear Leather Tactical Gloves
These gloves don’t feel too tight and will keep your hands cool and comfy even if you wear them all day thanks to the brand’s Thermal Plastic Rubber (TPR) closure.
Best For Driving: Café Leather Triton Driving Gloves
Durable and incredibly soft, the Triton Driving Gloves has an elastic wrist for extra security and comfort while driving. The exterior is perforated leather for additional breathability.
Formalwear Essential: Scully and Scully Leather Criss-Cross Gloves
Don’t be shy, wear these Italian leather gloves from Scully and Scully. These luxurious gloves are made more comfortable with cashmere lining, making them the perfect accessory to pair with a suit on special occasions.
Bargain Buy: Guide Gear Men’s Cashmere Lined Lamb Leather Gloves
A classic, handsome fit on the outside, sinfully soft cashmere on the inside — what more could you ask for? The amazing comfort of these 100% lamb leather gloves is undergirded with an elastic band that ensures they stay put.
Splurge: Hestra Carpincho Handsewn Cashmere Glove
If looks are your top priority for a pair of dress gloves, then look no further. Hestra’s glove makers take South American carpincho nubuck, a leather where the grain has been ground down for a suede-looking feel, and cut it according to a 17th-century French technique. With its subtle dotted texture set off by three decorative stitches, this ultra-fine leather gets softer and more supple each time you wear it — good news, since you’re going to want to show these off every day. But rest assured, these gorgeous gloves don’t require you to suffer — an ultra-thin cashmere lining ensures your digits stay dry and toasty.
When Do You Need Dress Gloves
The beauty of dress gloves is their versatility. People use unlined or knitted gloves in the fall and early winter for driving and complementing an outfit for urban nights out. In the colder months, they transition to lined gloves for everything — from driving to aprés to cleaning off the car after a snowstorm.
What Should You Look For in a Good Dress Glove
It all starts with materials. Leather is a great material mainly because of its durability, abrasion resistance, and longevity. There are various types of leather that offer specific benefits and are ideal for different occasions. The construction of the glove is exceedingly important as well. Whatever you need gloves for, it’s crucial to get the perfect combination of materials and construction.
How do You Maintain Dress Gloves
Leather gloves, depending on the finish, can be sensitive to humidity or rain. If your gloves do become wet, there is some possibility that dark stains may appear, especially for brighter colors. Hairsheep is the most sensitive, while peccary, deer, and elk tolerate it better. We simply recommend you take off your gloves while it is raining. They can be dried flat at room temperature, if wet. Keep them away from any source of heat, as the leather can dry out and become stiff.
To retain their original appearance, leather gloves need to rest from time to time – similar to fine footwear; damp leather wears more quickly than it does when it is dry. Our advice is therefore that, where possible, you should allow a day between wearings and alternate with other gloves.
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