A captivating history of gloves both real and mythical, practical and high fashion. This beautifully illustrated history of gloves draws on examples from across the world to explore their cultural significance. From hand-knitted mittens to exquisitely embroidered confections, and from the three-fingered gloves of medieval shepherds to Bluetooth-enabled examples that function like a mobile phone, gloves' extraordinary variety is a tribute to human ingenuity. So, too, is the remarkable diversity of their-often contradictory-cultural associations. They have been linked to honor, identity, and status, but also to decadence and deceit. In this book, Anne Green discusses gloves both as material objects with their own fascinating history and as fictional creations in folktales, literature, films, etiquette manuals, paintings, and advertisements. Looking to the runway, Green even explores their recent resurgence as objects of high fashion.

About the Author
Anne Green is professor emeritus of French at King's College London. She is the author, most recently, of Gustave Flaubert, also published by Reaktion Books.

Reviews
''Absolutely fascinating: a timely foray into the strange world of gloves in all their symbolic and functional glory.'' -- Claire Wilcox, senior curator of fashion, Victoria and Albert Museum, author of "Patch Work: A Life Amongst Clothes"



Book Information
ISBN 9781789144581
Author Anne Green
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Reaktion Books
Publisher Reaktion Books