Gloves are of great antiquity and their story goes back to prehistoric times. They were worn by cavemen to protect their hands and took the form of bags resembling a primitive type of mitten - a glove with fingers and a gauntlet covering the forearm. Thousands of years before the Scottish proverb, "touch not the cat without a glove", was written, primitive man had realised the necessity of shielding his hand. In subsequent years, the farmer protected his hands from thorns and prickles when rooting out thickets to prepare the land for agriculture. So the glove first came into use to protect the hand against injury. These early gloves were much like mittens, made from the skins of animals, mostly deer or sheepskin, with the fur inside. The wearing of gloves, other than for functional and protective purposes, was confined up to the 11th Century to the nobility, clergy and military.

In England after the Norman conquest, gloves were worn as a badge of distinction by royalty and dignitaries. The glove became meaningful as a token; it became custom to fling a gauntlet at the feet of the adversary, thereby challenging his integrity and inviting satisfaction by duel. The glove to challenge personal battle became, and remained, an integral part of English Law for nearly 800 years. It was a right any free man could claim. Only little more than a century ago a Staffordshire man accused of murder threw down his glove in Court and demanded judge's permission to fight his accuser when death would claim the guilty one. Gloves were becoming a mark of distinction and honour. Gloves that were jewelled, embroidered, fringed, scalloped or tasselled were taking on a new social and symbolic significance.

In the 12th Century gloves became a definite part of fashionable dress. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, no well dressed woman would appear in public without them. Gloves were becoming more accessible to the common people and their popularity grew.

In the 16th and 17th Centuries gloves were extravagantly ornamented; they were of leather, linen, silk, or lace and were jewelled, embroidered, or fringed. After the 17th Century however, the emphasis was on proper fit, and gloves became less ornamental.

Modern gloves are made from fabric, plain or knitted; of leather from almost every variety of animal hide; and of rubber and plastic used in surgical, laboratory, and household work.