Gloves and Apparel
Leather Gloves and Apparel: Glove Types, Names, Leathers and Fit
Types of leather gloves by cut and by leather: fingerless, driving, gauntlet; cowhide, goatskin, deerskin, elkskin, lambskin. Short answers and links.
Leather gloves fall into types in two ways: by cut (full-finger, fingerless, driving, cuff length) and by leather (cowhide, goatskin, deerskin, lambskin and others). A glove covers the hand with a separate sheath or opening for each finger. The cut decides what the glove is for, and the leather decides how it feels and wears.
This hub gives short answers on gloves, belts and jackets and links to a page for each question.
Key takeaways
- If the fingers are open or only partly covered, it is a fingerless glove.
- Cowhide is the most common glove leather. Lambskin is the usual fashion-glove leather.
- Leather gloves soften and shape to the hand as you wear them.
Glove types by cut
Fingerless gloves
The short answer to "what are gloves without fingers called" is fingerless gloves, also called glovelettes. Our quick answer page covers the name. The fingerless glove names guide lists the other names. For the reasons people wear them, see why people wear fingerless gloves and types of fingerless gloves and their uses.
| Type | What sets it apart | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Full-finger glove | A sheath for every finger and the thumb | Gloves vs. mittens |
| Fingerless glove | Fingers open or only half covered | What gloves without fingers are called |
| Convertible mitten ("glitten") | A fingerless glove with a mitten flap that folds back | Names for fingerless gloves |
| Driving glove | Open knuckles and back, vent holes, short cuff, wrist snap | Leather glove textures |
| Short cuff vs gauntlet | Ends at the wrist, or runs up to the first half of the forearm | — |
Glove leathers and what they do
Sources: Wikipedia's glove article and Black Stallion's guide to glove leathers. Wet handling can stiffen any leather glove. For water and heat questions, see are cowhide gloves waterproof and are leather gloves heat resistant.
| Leather | What sources say |
|---|---|
| Cowhide | The most common glove leather, and one of the heaviest. Often used for lower-priced gloves and thought too bulky for fine dress gloves |
| Goatskin | Supple from its lanolin, water-resistant, used where dexterity matters |
| Deerskin | Strong and stretchy. It can get wet and still dry soft |
| Elkskin | Thicker than deerskin. One maker calls it its most heat-, flame- and abrasion-resistant glove leather |
| Lambskin / hairsheep | Lambskin is the usual fashion-glove leather. Hairsheep is finer and suits dress gloves |
| Pigskin | Dense, and does not stiffen after getting wet |
Lined, heated and protective gloves
Some gloves are defined by what is inside or woven in, not by the leather. Each has its own short page:
Glove words you will see on labels
Button length is the length from the base of the thumb to the cuff, given in inches. Fourchettes are the inside panels on the fingers. Points are the stitch lines on the back of the hand.
Belts, vests and jackets
- Belts: leather belts can lengthen a little with wear, and makers disagree on how much. See do leather belts stretch over time and types of leather belts.
- Jackets: weight depends on the shell, the fill and, for leather, the hide thickness. See how much jackets weigh.
- Vests: see what a pleather vest is and what "pleather vest" means.
Leather riding and dress gloves
For riding, Leather Collection motorcycle gloves are hand-stitched from 0.8-0.9 mm cowhide, in styles for men and women. The store's men's range covers dress, driving and lined winter gloves in lambskin and cowhide. Each pair is made to order.
FAQ
What are the three types of gloves?
No standard sets three. One simple way to group them is by finger coverage: full-finger gloves, fingerless gloves, and mittens or convertible "glittens" that cover the fingers together. See gloves vs. mittens.
What is the toughest leather for gloves?
It depends on the job. One glove maker ranks elkskin as its most heat-, flame- and abrasion-resistant leather and calls deerskin one of the toughest. Cowhide is the most common all-round choice.
What are the different types of leather gloves?
By use, they include dress, driving, work, riding and fingerless gloves. By leather, they include cowhide, goatskin, deerskin, elkskin, pigskin and lambskin (see the table above).
HitKB Editorial Team
HitKB articles are researched from published sources, cited in the text, and reviewed before publication.