Not currently on display at the V&A

Pair of Mittens

ca. 1832 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In the 19th century gloves were an indispensable accessory for women. They were worn for day and evening wear. Wealthy women owned many pairs suited to different occasions and carefully chosen to match particular outfits. Strict rules applied to the wearing of gloves. A woman would be considered undressed if she left the house ungloved and it was customary, for instance, to keep gloves on in church, at the theatre and at balls.

In a period of increasing modesty mittens such as these were a pretty and comfortable fashion for keeping the hands covered, allowing the freedom to do needlework by day and to dine in the evening. Black silk machine-net mittens such as these would have been worn with semi-formal evening dress, and were seen as a perfectly acceptable alternative to evening gloves when worn by the very young or the very old.

There were two types of mittens prevalent at this time; those with a single hole for fingers and those with cut off individualised fingers or 'fourchettes' such as these. The silver gilt and silver thread embroidery on the back of the hands forms a floral design typical of the time. This would have placed great strain on the delicate netting, causing gloves like these to break easily. The ephemeral nature of these accessories would have been part of their appeal as only those who could afford such frivolity would have purchased them; the untarnished condition of this particular pair suggests they were almost certainly never worn. Women's day dresses from the mid 1820s onwards were long-sleeved, and never above the elbow throughout the century. Conversely, evening dresses were often excessively short sleeved and required longer gloves to be worn. The dark colour and longer length of these mittens suggests they were intended for evening and not day wear.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Mitten
  • Mitten
Materials and techniques
Black net, embroidered silver gilt and silver thread
Brief description
Pair of mittens, black net, embroidered silver gilt and silver thread, made in England about 1832
Physical description
Black silk machine-net mitten
Dimensions
  • Length: 28cm
  • At the arm width: 9cm
  • At the wrist width: 5cm
Summary
In the 19th century gloves were an indispensable accessory for women. They were worn for day and evening wear. Wealthy women owned many pairs suited to different occasions and carefully chosen to match particular outfits. Strict rules applied to the wearing of gloves. A woman would be considered undressed if she left the house ungloved and it was customary, for instance, to keep gloves on in church, at the theatre and at balls.

In a period of increasing modesty mittens such as these were a pretty and comfortable fashion for keeping the hands covered, allowing the freedom to do needlework by day and to dine in the evening. Black silk machine-net mittens such as these would have been worn with semi-formal evening dress, and were seen as a perfectly acceptable alternative to evening gloves when worn by the very young or the very old.

There were two types of mittens prevalent at this time; those with a single hole for fingers and those with cut off individualised fingers or 'fourchettes' such as these. The silver gilt and silver thread embroidery on the back of the hands forms a floral design typical of the time. This would have placed great strain on the delicate netting, causing gloves like these to break easily. The ephemeral nature of these accessories would have been part of their appeal as only those who could afford such frivolity would have purchased them; the untarnished condition of this particular pair suggests they were almost certainly never worn. Women's day dresses from the mid 1820s onwards were long-sleeved, and never above the elbow throughout the century. Conversely, evening dresses were often excessively short sleeved and required longer gloves to be worn. The dark colour and longer length of these mittens suggests they were intended for evening and not day wear.
Collection
Accession number
T.96&A-1915

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Record createdJune 19, 2008
Record URL
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