Best MotB Gloves Currently Available
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 11:53 am
Inspired by Holt's awesome Mystery of the Blues Builder's thread (https://www.indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?t=73464) I've been working on picking out some more MotB pieces for myself, and currently I'm on the hunt for a pair of winter gloves.
I've been doing a lot of research, and wanted to share what I consider to be the best 'close enough' options available right now. If anyone else finds options that are closer, please share them here as well! My wish would be to find a pair of SA gloves, but without doing a deep dive into the secondhand market, my efforts to find an SA options on sale right now from a mass retailer are coming up empty.
In general, it doesn't seem to be that hard to find a pair of gloves that look right on the outside. But getting the right exterior look with the correct lining and side split so that you can fold the gloves up (as pictured below) has proven nearly impossible (at least for me). If you're willing to settle for something with a cashmere or thinsulate lining, though, the world is your oyster.
That said, here are the best options I have found with pros & cons.
1. Alpa Gloves HU Men's lamb fur lined gloves - Dark BROWN - hairsheep leather https://www.etsy.com/listing/1372616373 ... rs=1&sts=1
Pros/Cons: This pair has slight inaccuracies in the outer glove design, but to me they seem closest to getting the complete package. Pros: They are the right shade of brown leather, have three lines across the top of the glove, a split to fold back the wrist, and are lined with white/natural lamb's wool shearling. Cons: the split is on the bottom center of the wrist rather than the side of the glove as Indy's seem to be. Also the three lines at the top are a different style than you find on the pair of vintage gloves Holt found. That aside, given the low-res images of the originals, these lines could still be considered SA. I don't think you can prove that the top lines didn't look like this.
2. Overland Men's Noble Shearling-Lined Lambskin Leather Gloves - https://www.overland.com/products/mens- ... gKl6fD_BwE
Pros/Cons: These seems like a pretty spot-on match from the outside. The right color leather, side split, and they do have a shearling liner. The main drawback is that the liner is dark brown rather than a white/cream tone, so if you want to roll the wrist back like Indy does you won't get the same two-tone look. Also, this liner looks more fur-like in texture than the natural wool texture that Indy's seem to have.
3. / Wild Card: Karl Lagerfeld Wool Lined Leather Gloves https://www.farfetch.com/shopping/men/k ... reid=11920
Pros/Cons: I put these in the 'wild card' category because they look right on the outside (apart from the KL tag you'd have to remove), but there isn't enough information about the liner. They say 'wool lined' which most likely means cashmere or some kind of wool fabric, which would put these in the same camp as a lot of other readily available options. But, there's always a chance it's the wool that we're after... So, honestly, they probably aren't the droids we're looking for, but if someone wanted to roll the dice, there's a chance these could be a surprise win.
I've been doing a lot of research, and wanted to share what I consider to be the best 'close enough' options available right now. If anyone else finds options that are closer, please share them here as well! My wish would be to find a pair of SA gloves, but without doing a deep dive into the secondhand market, my efforts to find an SA options on sale right now from a mass retailer are coming up empty.
In general, it doesn't seem to be that hard to find a pair of gloves that look right on the outside. But getting the right exterior look with the correct lining and side split so that you can fold the gloves up (as pictured below) has proven nearly impossible (at least for me). If you're willing to settle for something with a cashmere or thinsulate lining, though, the world is your oyster.
That said, here are the best options I have found with pros & cons.
1. Alpa Gloves HU Men's lamb fur lined gloves - Dark BROWN - hairsheep leather https://www.etsy.com/listing/1372616373 ... rs=1&sts=1
Pros/Cons: This pair has slight inaccuracies in the outer glove design, but to me they seem closest to getting the complete package. Pros: They are the right shade of brown leather, have three lines across the top of the glove, a split to fold back the wrist, and are lined with white/natural lamb's wool shearling. Cons: the split is on the bottom center of the wrist rather than the side of the glove as Indy's seem to be. Also the three lines at the top are a different style than you find on the pair of vintage gloves Holt found. That aside, given the low-res images of the originals, these lines could still be considered SA. I don't think you can prove that the top lines didn't look like this.
2. Overland Men's Noble Shearling-Lined Lambskin Leather Gloves - https://www.overland.com/products/mens- ... gKl6fD_BwE
Pros/Cons: These seems like a pretty spot-on match from the outside. The right color leather, side split, and they do have a shearling liner. The main drawback is that the liner is dark brown rather than a white/cream tone, so if you want to roll the wrist back like Indy does you won't get the same two-tone look. Also, this liner looks more fur-like in texture than the natural wool texture that Indy's seem to have.
3. / Wild Card: Karl Lagerfeld Wool Lined Leather Gloves https://www.farfetch.com/shopping/men/k ... reid=11920
Pros/Cons: I put these in the 'wild card' category because they look right on the outside (apart from the KL tag you'd have to remove), but there isn't enough information about the liner. They say 'wool lined' which most likely means cashmere or some kind of wool fabric, which would put these in the same camp as a lot of other readily available options. But, there's always a chance it's the wool that we're after... So, honestly, they probably aren't the droids we're looking for, but if someone wanted to roll the dice, there's a chance these could be a surprise win.
