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Affordable Men's Style

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Smell the Glove – Best affordable gloves fall/winter 2012

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Note:  Do not smell, or make someone smell your glove in public.

Like sunglasses and coats, a pair of sport style ski-gloves will look out of place in many (read: most) situations.  So while it’s good to have a pair of  gore-tex mitts for the slopes and snowball fights, reach for a less technical looking pair for those trips to work and out on the town.

When it comes to sizing, know that not all gloves come in the standard Small, Medium, Large, XL range.  Plenty are sized by the circumference of the wearer’s hand.  More specifically, around the part where your hand’s knuckles are.  A size 9 = a 9″ circumference around the knuckles.  If you don’t have a tailor’s measuring tape, take a piece of printer paper and wrap the shorter end around that part of your hand.  We all know that the short side is 8.5″, which is usually right between medium & large.  That should give you a ballpark idea as to how big you should go.
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Belted: Nappa Leather – $47.01 or Quilted – $52.36 w/FALLSALE12
No surprise that Polo has a few decent options.

Both by Polo Ralph Lauren and both a part of their now extended fall sale.  An extra 15% comes off with the FALLSALE12 code.  RL seems to do a real nice job in designing their gloves.  Each is lined, with the plainer Nappa Leather getting the thinsulate treatment.  A warning… RL gloves have run a little tight in the past.  Had to size up from a Medium to a Large for these to fit my average sized hands.

 

The Just Different Enough: BOSS Check/Plaid Lined – $51.00 w/ HOLIDAYFF
Originally $85. Ships free too.

Just a few subtle details are changed on these.  Instead of the usually triple top stitch, these limit the seams to two running from the wrist up to the fingers.  The check/plaid lining is a nice touch as well.  Embossed logo at the wrist so it won’t be too noticeable.  Currently on sale at Bloomingdale’s, and take an extra 20% off with the code HOLIDAYFF.  They’re also running a free shipping promotion too, with no code required.  Code expires on 11/12, with free shipping expiring 11/11.  Also available in black.

 

Sleek & Simple: Calvin Klein Snap Wrist Gloves –$32.50 ($65)
Maybe not the toughest things?

Part of the CK 50% off gloves/hats/scarves thing they have going on through today.  Bit of a grain to the leather but not quite pebbled.  No stitching on the backs of the hands, but a snap closure cinch at the wrist.

 

The Wool Tops: Allen Edmonds Wool & Leather Glove in Black or Brown – $58.00
“Reach out… I’ll be there”

Donnegal-like tweed on the brown pair complete with flecks of yellow and orange in the mix.  A plainer charcoal/black wool on the topside of the black option.  Both are “imported”.  Both ship free thanks to the Allen Edmonds free shipping no minimum policy.  (A similar, sleeker option, would be the Banana Republic Leather & Felt  glove for $65.  That works out to $45.50 if you can get em’ at 30% off.)

 

The Really Tweed Gloves: Lands’ End Harris Tweed Gloves – $27.99 w/ LOVEWINTER1 & 1012
Retail is $80.

Herringbone Harris Tweed from Lands’ End. Target makes a cheap-o version and if memory serves, they usually sell those for around $20, but they’re not online quite yet.  These have been kicking around on the Lands’ End site for about a year, have 100% wool tweed tops, and deerskin palms.  LOVEWINTER1 and 1012 takes 30% off and they ship free.  Credit to Elli in the comments for that.  Meanwhile, Ben in the comments wasn’t a fan.  Check out his comment before ordering.

 

The Light Sheepskin: Grandoe Sheepskin Gloves in Copper/Black – $54.00 ($125)
The light color glove dark horse

Was just going for $45 instead of $54, so might be worth hanging out for another sale.  Sheepskin exterior, black topstitch detail, and lined with a wool/nylon cashmere blend.

 

Drivers:  John W. Nordstrom Driving Gloves – $69.50
“My hands are a little dirty.” “So are mine.”

Driving gloves, a favorite of peacocks, aren’t completely played out everywhere.  Helps if you have a car that requires you to drive it more than it drives you.

 

Shearling: Aston Leather Made in the USA Gloves – $71.96 w/ ALPUMPKIN2
Shades of Bane.

Fur’s on the inside.  One reviewer said they’re not that warm, which is surprising being that shearling usually is.  Four color options to pick from.   The 20% off Code ALPUMPKIN2 is good for 20% off anything at Sierra Trading Post and expires today.

 

The I-Don’t-Want-Leather option: Topman Striped Gloves – $20.00
Cow free.

Twenty bucks isn’t cheap for a pair of acrylic/poly/wool knit gloves, but they do ship and return free, have some speckling to them, and come with the stripes.  Available through Nordstrom.com who is now selling Topman stuff.

 

The These-are-all-wussy-gloves gloves: Bison Leather – $23.99
Axetastic

More of a work glove than anything, but most likely tougher than anything else here.  Lined or unlined.

 

The Would-you-wear-its: Abboud Combo gloves in black – $40 or black & brown – $55.20
Different for sure.

The black pair are a leather and suede combo, with the black and brown pair being all leather.  Traditional triple top stitch on the backs with a real small Abboud logo at the wrist.

Where did you get your favorite pair of gloves?  Other suggestion for where to buy a good pair?  Is this another thing to head back to the Army/Navy surplus store for?  Leave it all in the comments…

Comments

  2. Got two great pairs on sale at Macy’s nearly three years ago – one black pair and one brown pair, cashmere lined. Heavily discounted even though there was still lots of snow outside!
    Have rarely had the chance to wear them back home in Oz, but at least one pair will be heading to Europe with me at the end of the month!

  3. Any comments on warmth? Being in New England makes that a serious factor when deciding on a pair for the depths of winter. Maybe the Nappa Leather with the thinsulate, any other warm options as I normally wear XL gloves and it might be too much of a risk if they run small.

  5. My polo quilted gloves a currently living with fedex (damn door tags)

    Driving gloves are never played out… it just takes a super “i don’t give a [ ] what you think” attitude to pull off.

    this guy was actually “wearing” the gloves but it still works.
    http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/outside-ralph-lauren-womens-fall-2006/

    I wear my prickish bmw driving gloves with impunity… even though i’m sure i come off like this:

    http://www.amazon.com/BMW-Black-Leather-Driving-Gloves/dp/B0021GJ9TY/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1352295103&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=BMW+Driving+Gloves

  6. Whenever I need the extra push over the cliff, I pull on my fashionable winter gloves, and put it up to eleven.

  8. The Allen Edmond pair is underwhelming. I bought them the last time they were featured and wasn’t impressed with the quality for that price point.

  9. I had to reopen the larger image just to make sure. Hercules, hercules!

    (Random aside, does that show our age around here?)

  10. Is it weird/boring that I ordered a pair of the quilted Ralph Lauren gloves in both the brown and the black?

  11. Grandoe has some that are made with the ‘touch screen friendly’ stuff, but I can’t speak to how well it works or looks. Noticed them on lastcall while i was getting my pair of brown ones.

  12. Unless you’re looking for the atrocious looking ones that have sliver fingertips, what you’ll be searching for is leather gloves using the Touch Tec technology. I got some regular looking leather gloves for around $30 around xmas (maybe right after) at Lord & Taylor last year. They work amazingly well (anywhere on the glove will register a touch) and look just like a plain solid leather glove (so, pretty classic).

    Unfortunately, Touch Tec gloves TYPICALLY are on the expensive side so you may need to do some shopping around. The BlackBrown ones I found were on a pretty big sale when I got them.

  14. I had the Landsend tweed gloves. Yes the tweed is quality, but the deerskin underside and poor thin fleece-like lining provides very minimal warmth (if any at all). I had to return them. Not worth buying gloves if they don’t do their job!

  15. yes, Kevin Sorbo was cast as the next Sherlock Holmes. How long was Hercules on air, like 5 years? I remember it being contemporaneous with Zena but, Zena was a spin-off.

  18. Thanks for the review, Ben. I had these in my cart and ditched them after reading your review. I had read they had some sizing issues before as well, so this is the final nail in that coffin for me.

  22. I can vouch for the sizing issues, it fit fine when i had my hand flat, but once i balled it up, the tweed didnt curve to the contour of the backside of my hand, so it kind of bunched up. I had to return it too.

  23. I went and ordered the Ralph Lauren gloves. They fit perfectly (surprisingly, since I have huge hands and ordered large), but the description on the RL website is incorrect. It says they are lined with Merino wool, when in fact they are really lined with lambswool. Not that big a deal, but Merino is definitely softer than lambswool so I am kind of disappointed. I have a feeling they will start to feel itchy after a while.

  30. I have to second this. I bought these a few months ago and have only worn them ~5 times; they are already starting to rip. Kind of disappointing, they are really nice looking.

  32. While they may work, I’m sure they would be a bit more chilly than a pair of Touch Tec leather gloves. Actually, Lord & Taylor just announced a glove sale today and appear to have a number of Touch Tec gloves this year. Still, waiting for a sale closer to, or after Xmas may serve you better.

  33. What a bummer. Thanks for the heads up. The search for affordable tweed gloves continues….

  36. Just picked up a pair of 50+ year old black leather gloves, are in need of some TLC but once cleaned and fed will be perfect, the lining is in like new condition.

  37. true to size, snug at first but after two wears (i use them for motorcycle riding) they fit me just fine. results may vary

  38. Does anyone know of any higher quality options for the Lands End tweed gloves? I love the look but have been scared off by all the negative comments here

  39. I have a pair as well! I don’t like everything that I purchase from Uniqlo but the items that I have liked/purchased are excellent.

  40. Hmmm…I’m thinking about buying a pair as a gift for my dad–his hands aren’t particularly big though, are yours/do you normally have trouble fitting into standard-sized gloves?