Trends
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Opera Gloves Aren't Going Anywhere
Elevate your evening wear with this royalty-approved accessory.
by : Lauren Knowles- Feb 27th, 2023
Getty Images
Fancy a night out? Adorn your arms with a sleek pair of above-the-elbow length opera gloves to elevate your ensemble. This accessory may have dominated the trend department last year, but the current state of fashion predicts evening gloves will continue to be on trend — thanks to celebrity style and designer collections inclusive of this historically high-fashion accessory.
At Sunday’s BAFTA Awards red carpet, Kate Middleton made her grand entrance in a re-fashioned Alexander McQueen gown and black velvet opera gloves — but this accessory has even deeper regal roots that date back to ancient Egyptian royalty. From the reign of King Tutankhamun to the modern-day Princess of Wales, gloves have long been symbolic of the upper echelon. For centuries, their function has wavered between said symbols of status for wealthy monarchs and socialites to having strictly utilitarian and protective purposes in labor-intensive fields. Eventually, with their sophisticated and sartorially savvy appeal, wearing gloves for pure fashion became an intriguing option, too. The over-the-elbow ‘opera’ or ‘evening’ glove was frequently worn, as one may have guessed, to the opera or for a night of brushing elbows with the elite during the 19th century and onwards. With a documented history of being worn solely for fashion’s sake, the resurgence of the opera glove as a stylistic choice proves history truly does repeat itself.
Films like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Breakfast at Tiffany’s showcase some of fashion’s greatest opera glove moments, where Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn made the evening glove an example of how Hollywood starlets ought to dress — if they really wanted to give off an air of star power. In the decades since, it appears this glove affair between celebrities and the drama of this opera-length accessory has never ceased.
Beyond the silver screen, observe opera gloves on runways as recent as Valentino’s Spring 2023 show where models graced the catwalk in vibrant variations of the accessory, or Erdem’s fanciful take on the style in the label’s Fall 2023 show. For further evidence of these gloves’ endurance, look to stylish stars like Dua Lipa, who adopted this accessory as part of her Future Nostalgia tour uniform last year – or Beyoncé, who accepted her historic Grammy win at the esteemed award show just last month in a custom Gucci Gown and a chic pair of leather gloves.
The year has only just begun but we get the sense that like in 2022, we’ll continue to see more of the opera glove this year. Scroll on for five of our favorite evening glove picks to wear for your next outing.
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