In vintage near mint condition, their glamorous style and quality are what first catches the eye. Obviously, these wonderful bone-colored, kid leather gloves are in that stylish 1940s gauntlet design.
However, it is the interior labeling that will grab your attention. That seemingly minor blue stamp inside accurately dates their manufacture to between the post-WWII years of 1946-1947.
Following WWII, Germany was divided into four zones after the Allied Nations defeated Hitler and the Nazis. These occupational zones were shared between the United States, United Kingdom, France and Soviet Union. These gloves were manufactured in Germany during this time of revitalization. We know this because of this particular glove company’s history coupled with the label marked “Made in Germany US Zone.”
The company was ARIS. ARIS was started in California by Arthur, Robert and Irwin Stanton during 1910 and the name is an acronym of their initials. The company owned a glove manufacturing plant in Germany, which was seized by the Nazis when the United States entered the war. At the end of the war following September 2, 1945, the California based ARIS glove company began work again in occupied Germany. Then in 1947, the United Kingdom and United States formed a unified zone agreement. Therefore, it is safe to say that these gloves were imported to the United States for sale sometime between 1946 to 1947.
(see Evans, Judicial Decisions “Wartime confiscation of private property, Paris Reparation Agreement, 1946”)
The gloves are made from exquisite and divinely soft kid leather. They have that definitive angled silhouette at the wrist, which is accented with eight kid leather flowers. The gloves are entirely hand sewn. Their quality is luxurious.
They appear to have been worn and are in clean, vintage near mint condition.
The gloves are accurately sized as a size 7 US or 7 EU. They are designed with ample room in the fingers for fashionable nails. Although they appear to have been gently worn, perhaps only once... these lovely nearly white gloves are a rare find.