Vintage 1940s Gauntlet Gloves in Kid Leather Accurately Date Between 1946-1947

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.

Circa 1951 Vintage Hat With Matching Gloves

Bows! 

This is an estate find and it is a rare treat to find a matching set that was obviously carefully chosen as an ensemble by the original owner. This has not been on the market since the set was first purchased about 60 years ago. 

The hat and gloves are perfectly coordinated! 

From the 1950s, this matching set in a color that is unusual and warm. It is the color of hot chocolate with extra cream...or perhaps a steamy latte.

If you are looking for a vintage gift for a 50s vintage clothing enthusiast, this set is recommended and should delight! 

Important Historical Fashion Design: Merry Hull Linen Gloves Dated 1938

Glove collectors will be enchanted by this early, exquisite pair of linen Merry Hull gloves.

Gladys Whitcomb Geissmann moved to NYC from Columbus, Ohio and changed her name  to Merry Hull. In 1938, she invented the first 3-dimensional glove design with additional panels that gave a more tailored fit as well as more freedom in movement. Her unique design eliminated the problem of popping seams and bulky gathers around the fingers. 

Merry Hull's name was well known to fashionable women in the late 1930s, through to the 1950s. Her glove advertisements were in multitudes of fashion trade and retail magazines including Cosmopolitan and Vogue...as well as nearly every newspaper. 

Merry Hull's early label is in this pair of exquisite gloves, which date to between 1938-1939 by patent filing and grant dates. The gloves carry that brilliant gold, embroidered label with the hand-with-wings logo and first patent number of 2,125,673 also embroidered inside. Her patent filing date for this glove design was March 1, 1938 and it was granted that year.  

It is Merry Hull's ingenious design that allows the gloves to be made from fabric that is not stretchy. The gloves fit the hand like a well tailored couture suit.

This particular pair of Merry Hull gloves are made from extremely fine, woven linen with what appears to be a small amount of silk plied into the linen fiber, which adds that additional sheen. The gloves are nothing less than luxurious. 

From an estate, these gloves have not been on the market since they were first purchased decades ago. Not only are they stunning in color and quite unusual, but they are also historically important in the history of American fashions. 

Merry Hull gloves just like these are found in important museum collections and curators have written academic papers about this designer and the importance of her patented glove-making designs. In fact, it is said that she alone changed glove design for the first time in 300 years. 

One reference to research if you wish to learn more is from The Costume Society of America's Gayle Strege, curator at Ohio State University Historic Costume & Textiles Collection titled Merry Hull’s Gloves. The paper was presented by Strege at the Costume Society of America Region III annual meeting, St. Paul, Minnesota, October 2002. 

According to history, Hull's patent was sold almost immediately, and Merry Hull made an impressive $200,000. Today, Hull is listed as one of the top American inventors in history as well as historically important fashion designer.