The Complete Handbook of Costume Gloves
A Professional's Guide to Sourcing, Specifying, and Maintaining Performance and Display Gloves
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
The definitive reference for specifying, wearing, and maintaining costume gloves for stage, screen, and retail.
About this book
Every costume tells a story, and gloves are often the most visible—and most neglected—detail. Whether you are dressing a Victorian corpse bride, a jazz-age flapper, or a present-day assassin, the right glove must fit correctly, move the way the character moves, and survive the rehearsal schedule. This handbook was written for professionals who need to make decisions fast and justify them to a director, a client, or an accountant.
The Complete Handbook of Costume Gloves covers the full spectrum: how to grade knit, woven, and leather gloves by material and construction; how to take accurate hand measurements and convert them to period-accurate sizing charts; how to launder, spot-clean, and re-dye different fabrics without ruining them; and how to repair a blown seam or a broken snap in under ten minutes. The book also devotes an entire chapter to the trade—how to source wholesale lots, build a rental inventory with an eye to turnover, and contract with makers for private-label runs.
Written in a neutral, instructional voice, this is not a catalog of pretty pictures. It is a working tool, one that belongs in a studio kit bag, a rental shop's back office, and a costume shop's reference shelf. If you take gloves seriously as part of the craft, this book will make you better at your job.
Reader Reviews
Anna Miller
★★★★★It's a solid reference, no question. I've been running a rental shop for six years and the chapter on building an inventory with turnover in mind was genuinely useful. The problem is that the writing is dense, and the first chapter spends a LOT of time on construction details I already know. If you're a complete beginner, this is probably a five-star book. For me, it was a little slow out of the gate, but I'm glad I stuck with it for the business chapters.
Paul Mitchell
★★★★★Finally, a book that treats gloves like the technical part of a costume they are. The section on seam construction and how it affects durability on a high-activity character (we do a lot of fight choreography) was worth the price alone. The fabric stretch chapter saved us from buying a batch of cheap polyester gloves that would have split in the first dress rehearsal. I've already recommended it to three other wardrobe supervisors.
Christopher Martin
★★★★★I bought this expecting a glossy coffee-table book and got a working manual instead. It reads like a textbook for a trade I didn't know existed, and that's a good thing. The maintenance chapter is exactly what our volunteer costume shop needed – clear steps for washing, deodorizing, and repairing gloves without ruining them. We've already changed our storage method based on the advice here.
Jacob Garcia
★★★★★As someone who makes custom cosplay pieces, I appreciated that the book doesn't dumb anything down. The chapter on choosing the right glove gave me a whole new way to think about negotiation between fit and character movement – I used to just order the largest size that didn't look baggy. Now I know how to measure stretch and choose a knit that actually looks right on a hand harness. Very practical, very specific.
Mark King
★★★★★Great reference, but be warned: it's dry. That is not a criticism – it reads like a manual, which is what I wanted. I'm a buyer for a regional theater, and the specifics on sizing charts and how to deal with manufacturers on returns have already saved me from a headache. The glossary in the back is also better than anything I've found online. It doesn't have photos, which is a shame, but the descriptions are clear enough to work from.