Gloves cover hands and have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. Fingerless gloves have an opening but no covering sheath for each finger. Gauntlets are fingerless gloves with one large opening. Gloves which cover the entire hand but do not have separate finger openings or sheaths are called mittens.

Gloves are used for warmth, as a fashion accessory and as a design statement. Gloves are made of wool, velvet, leather, silk, lace, acrylic and rubber. Gloves have an internal lining of satin, silk or velor and sometimes have padding as well.

Types of Gloves
The different types of gloves are:

• Evening Gloves
• Formal Gloves
• Semi Formal Gloves

Gloves can also be differentiated on the basis of the time of the day that they are worn. Women's gloves for formal and semi-formal wear are available in three different types:

• Matinee gloves are gloves that only come up to the wrist.
• Elbow length gloves cover the arm upto the elbows.
• Opera gloves are full length gloves that go over the elbow and cover the arm upto the biceps.

Gloves: Past To Present
Gloves appear to have a long history. According to some translations of Homer's "The Odyssey", the protagonist of the story wears gloves while walking to avoid scratching due to brambles. In 440 BC, Herodotus wrote "The History of Herodotus" which also mentions a story about Leotychides getting incriminated due to a gauntlet(glove) full of silver that he received as a bribe. In 100 AD, Pliny The Younger in his works mentioned about his uncle's shorthand writer who wore gloves during the winter so as not to smudge Pliny The Elder's work.

In the 10th and the 11th century, gloves were used by the Church priests primarily by the Pope, the cardinals and the bishops. They were worn only during celebrations.

In 13th century, gloves became a fashion accessory and also started being used for ceremonial and religious purposes. The gloves were made of linen and silk and sometimes covered the arm upto the elbow. In 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I set the fashion for wearing the gloves richly embroidered and jeweled. These gloves became a symbol of royalty.

Later on, gloves were used for everyday work and for fashion purposes. Now, gloves are used to keep warm and to make a fashion statement.