Mitten

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 in dress mittens such as these were a pretty and comfortable fashion for keeping the hands covered, allowing the freedom to do needlework or play cards by day and to dine in the evening. Although vital in the 1830s and 40s, they fell out of fashion in the middle of the century, appearing again, less prominently in the 1870s and 80s. These cream silk mittens would have been worn with a day dress, and are constructed with two openings, one for the thumb and a single space for the fingers, allowing even greater freedom of movement. Where the two pieces join at the wrist greater elasticity is provided by a wider stitched net. The light colour (most suited for day-wear) and ruching around the wrist suggest this would have been worn later in the century when dress sleeves began to shorten slightly making decoration higher up the arm worth while; however, there are clues to suggest that alterations may have been made. The main body of the mitten is assembled in a single piece of net and there is no join, which suggests this was made by hand. The addition of the machine net frill seems at odds with this design and may have been a later addition to keep with the changing fashion.