Years ago, when I was into one of my “I-feel-so-fat-I-only-wear-black” periods, my cousin Benedetta gave me a pair of yellow suede gloves. Yes, yellow. Not a “Mickey-Mouse-gloves” yellow, luckily – their hue was more like mustard, not too bad in itself, yet certainly not similar to any of the dark hues that were the staples in my wardrobe at that time.
The yellow gloves were soft and warm, so I didn’t want to throw them away. I decided to only use them for cycling early in the morning when I was not supposed to meet anyone I knew.
A few weeks later, though, while looking at myself in a full-length mirror with my yellow gloves on, I realized that for some unknown reason I looked taller (and, therefore, also slimmer) than when I paired dark gloves with a similarly dark coat.
This made me realize that in winter, gloves are key accessories that—unexpectedly enough—can modify the proportions of your whole figure to your advantage.
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Not only a nice pair of gloves is a tool to enhance your outfit – adding a polished touch to your chic style – but they may also help you flatter your figure.
Gloves whose color match that of your coat can produce a widening effect for your whole figure.
Conversely, when gloves have a color visibly different to that of your overcoat, they can make your arms look shorter and your legs, in comparison, longer (as you can see from the comparison between the pictures below).
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Excerpt from my book “Wardrobe Essentials for a Woman of Charme”
In fact, if you wear black gloves and a black coat, your arms will look visually longer and your legs comparatively shorter, as in the picture on the left. Conversely, if you wear gloves slightly lighter (or darker) than your outerwear, this will have a slimming effect, thus elongating your whole figure.
Furthermore, wearing gloves in a color that’s different from your outerwear also has the effect of hiding a few extra pounds in the hips area, further contributing to visually slim your silhouette.
If you want to look taller and slimmer at no effort, take advantage of this simple trick!
You’ll instantly look as if you’ve intensely dieted after all of those Christmas binges.
Give preference to leather items, as gloves made of wool, fleece, or technical fabrics may keep your hands warm, yes, but they don’t flatter your style (and figure) in any way. (you may still use wool or fleece for the inner padding to keep your hands warm without losing elegance)
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Leather gloves are chic and sophisticated, can be chosen in countless colors and patterns, and are incredibly versatile as they can be appropriate for many different settings and pairings.
Thin leather gloves allow you to use your hands for anything you want: taking your wallet from your bag, blowing your nose, and even answering to the phone (you may find gloves with touch-screen-friendly fingers as in the picture above).
When matching gloves to your scarf, shoes, and bags, the easiest solution is to pick out items that have the same type of tone (warm or cold). For example, if your shoes (or hat, or scarf) are gray, blue, or taupe (cold hues), your gloves can be gray.
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If your accessories have warm tones (natural leather, tan, red, camel, or caramel), the gloves should have a similarly warm shade (tan, orange, brown or any type of natural leather).
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When shopping for new items, the choice may not be easy, because nice, good-quality gloves are not always cheap, but take advantage of the sales and go hunting! You’ll surely find lovely and inexpensive articles online or in the shops.
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Pay attention to the material: suede, which can be cute for brand-new gloves, will become dirty in a short time, so it’s usually better to opt for smooth leather gloves, which are also far more elegant.
And if smooth leather is too classic for your style, you can opt for braided leather gloves (so chic!), or ones with some metal detail (as in the picture below) which will add personality to your whole look in a totally easygoing (and flattering!) way.
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