Not Sure How to Wear Gloves? Let Us Give You a Hand

	A Daniel Storto Creation
	Photo: Tiffany Smith

The most lasting image I have of a glove comes from classic film The Godfather, in which the mafia, otherwise referred to as "The Black Hand," would hang a black glove on the doors of its marked men.

How intriguing; how noir! I instantly wanted to get a pair for immediate femme fatal appeal. But after picking up a fashion magazine that chirped about gloves as the next handbag, the image cheapened. There's nothing mysterious about trendy accessories.

Daniel Storto, the darling of all Hollywood's most precious hands and self-proclaimed "brat of glove making" agrees that gloves should be an acquired taste, not a trendsetter's pet. So before you buy a pair this fall, make sure you've got the gravitas and individuality to convincingly pull off this classic style.

More Than a Handbag

Fashion magazines have been lazy the past few seasons with overworked glove styles, says Storto, who doesn't buy the "new handbag" hype. "Throw a pair of gloves in [with the wrong outfit] and it's ridiculous," he says.

"I don't shove [a trend] down women's throats," adds Storto, who prefers to design gloves for influential, intriguing women who are not fashionistas, like his latest series based on "MOMA momma" Dorothy Miller, the Museum of Modern Art's first curator. For the series, Storto fed white handmade leather gloves into an antique typewriter and typed on them. They are available at the Julie Artisans' Gallery on Madison Avenue in New York City for about $500 a pair.

Storto's glove innovations are sought by designers like Bob Mackie and celebrities from Renee Zellweger to Madonna, who, Storto says, "has great respect for the glove."

Tired with the expected opera-length (about 16 inches from the wrist) leather gloves, Storto champions the gauntlet glove, which extends to the elbow and flairs out like the wing of a jet plane.