How to wear tricky items: black lace gloves

I find that there are a handful of “tricky” fashion items out there, that people really seem to like on other people, but are unsure of how to wear them themselves.  I thought it might be nice if I chose one of those items and generated a few outfit examples to get the creative juices flowing.

My housemate has a pair of black lace gloves with the fingers cut out.  She has owned them for ages, but hardly ever wears them.  Last night, she asked me if I had any ideas on how she could style them.  Needless, to say, I did.

Black lace gloves are a little daunting, because you always run the risk of looking like Madonna during her “Holiday” era.  However, they are actually quite versatile and can be dressed up or down to brilliant effect.  (just avoid pairing them with a frothy lace dress, black rubber bangles and a bunch of beads and crosses, or you run the risk of people singing “Material Girl” to you as you walk down the street).

Here we go.

This outfit is still very feminine, but it has a bit of a sexy feel, with the red stilettos.  This dress is super-cute too, and would flatter the bust and the shoulders.

This ensemble is the sexiest of the bunch.  Black lace gloves are a little bit diva, so I mixed them in with a fur stole, crystal earrings and sky-high shoes and teamed them with a dress that would make stong men cry at train stations.

The girlie, feminine outfits are all very good, but they are very dressy.  I wanted to create some casual outfits too.  Gloves and other cute accessories are a great way to add interest to outfits that you wear all the time, and items that would be a bit mundane on their ownc

While  black gloves can be percieved as being a bit punk rock, they can also be teamed with print t shirts and cute jewellery to create an eclectic bohemian look.  The idea is to give the impression that you are living out of a suitcase, layering items and combining different prints and textures with gay abandon.

This final outfit is my personal favorite.  It is an homage to the punk/rockabilly fashions of the 70’s and 80’s that featured black fingerless gloves.  It also gives a sly nod to Mandie’s deep obsession with zombies.  This outfit teams tough-as-leather separates with sexy stockings to create a look that says “I’m hotter than hell, but when the zombies attack, I’ll be the one fighting them off with a chainsaw”

Hope you enjoyed this post.  If you have a tricky item that you aren’t sure how to wear, please feel free to drop me a line. 

Cheers