| rdfs:comment
| - Opera Gloves are long (elbow-length or longer, usually reaching to the upper arm or even the shoulder) gloves worn by women as an accessory, usually to a formal outfit such as an evening gown or wedding dress. The "elbow-length or longer" part is the key; gloves which cover a substantial portion of the forearm, up to just below the elbow, can legitimately be called "long gloves" or "evening gloves", but never "Opera Gloves". Opera Gloves are usually associated with the following character types (not an exclusive list, but these are the types most frequently seen wearing long gloves:
|
| abstract
| - Opera Gloves are long (elbow-length or longer, usually reaching to the upper arm or even the shoulder) gloves worn by women as an accessory, usually to a formal outfit such as an evening gown or wedding dress. The "elbow-length or longer" part is the key; gloves which cover a substantial portion of the forearm, up to just below the elbow, can legitimately be called "long gloves" or "evening gloves", but never "Opera Gloves". Most popular during the Regency Era (roughly 1790 to 1814, so you'll see them in a lot of Jane Austen adaptations), the late Victorian Era, The Gay Nineties and The Edwardian Era (roughly 1870 to 1914), and the World War II years through the early Sixties. Mostly confined to "specialist" fashions since then (wedding gowns, debutante outfits and the like), though there was a minor revival in the 1980's. Opera Gloves are usually associated with the following character types (not an exclusive list, but these are the types most frequently seen wearing long gloves:
* royalty (empresses, queens and Princesses) and the aristocracy;
* socialites, especially debutantes, Proper ladies and stuffy Grande Dame types;
* other young ladies
* burlesque strippers;
* chorus girls and showgirls in general;
* singers, especially opera divas and big-band singers in 1940's movies;
* fashion models (in which case said models will probably be wearing Opera Gloves as accessories to their outfits in a Fashion Show);
* femme fatales in film noirs and spy movies;
* brides and bridesmaids;
* dominatrices; As noted, Opera Gloves are closely associated with the aristocracy and royalty, especially during the 1870-1914 period, (in fact, gloves in general have been a symbol of royalty and authority for millennia) and many fictional queens, princesses and noblewomen will be portrayed as wearing them as part of their dresses (would be Gorgeous Period Dress, but those were worn in Real Life as well). They can also be Fetish Fuel, especially when worn as part of a dominatrix outfit, or if featured in a scene with a stripper (or somebody imitating a stripper) where the ecdysiast slowly removes her gloves, one at a time. Opera Gloves are often paired with strapless gowns, as a way of emphasizing the wearer's bustline: see "Miss Manners"'s remarks below in the Real Life section. Commonly paired with a Pimped-Out Dress, Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry, Pretty in Mink (whether a fur wrap or fur coat), Parasol of Prettiness. Compare Zettai Ryouiki (which involves long socks), Detached Sleeves. Examples of Opera Gloves include:
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)