While the days when a lady was considered insufficiently dressed if she went out without gloves on are, happily, no more, we have perhaps gone a little too far the other way. Gloves are given no consideration at all, and this is, I feel, a loss and a mistake. One does not always wish to have naked hands.
Here, then, is a guide to forming a complete (or compleat, if you prefer) wardrobe of gloves.
The most basic glove, the glove par excellence (unless you live in a tropical clime), is the winter glove. The primary purpose of this generally knitted glove is to provide warmth to the hands, so for pity’s sake don’t lose your head and buy a pair of polyester or acrylic ones, just because they’re entertaining. Lack of breathability does not constitute warmth. My basic pair are brown, and of slightly different sizes, but they are Just Right nonetheless.