How Much Are Those Pretty Gloves in the Window?

On the hunt for authentic Dublin goods, Darlene Fiske found unlikely love at a glove shop.

DUBLIN – I've fallen hard for the glove. Celebrities, stylists, models, and royalty all love the hand accessory. Why not me? The handbag in the Dublin shop window caught my eye, but the gloves stole my heart. Truth be told, it was the gloves and their designer, Paula Rowan.

I was in Ireland on business to attend a travel blogger conference and had scheduled an extra day in the city for sightseeing. Only my enthusiastic, fashion-focused friend and I were now lost. Staring blankly at nameless streets and buildings, I noticed a small store filled with leather goods. We stopped in for a look around, but left because ours was a quest for authentic Irish stuff. No luck. After a day of hustling, we returned to the store with the best potential to fulfill our dream of owning a piece of Ireland – Paula.

I'm not a glove person. It's not that I don't want to wear them, but there has never been a glove that's made me squeal with delight the way a new pair of shoes do. But that was before adorable, redheaded Paula showed us her glove babies, explained how they are made, and told us that her gloves have been worn by Chloe Sevigny and in the pages of Town & Country. I tilted my head, raised my eyebrows, and thought, maybe I could be a glove person.

Then I went mad, trying on every pair on. What size am I? I didn't even know gloves came in sizes other than one-size-fits-all. Should I get camel driving gloves? So hot! Except I might look like a hipster wannabe shuttling my son to soccer practice in driving gloves. Perhaps I'm better suited to a more traditional look, newbie glove wearer that I am. In the end, a fuschia pair with a scoop at the wrist loved me. A little edge, a little priss, a lot fabulous. The leather feels as soft as a cloud and fits, well, like a glove.

Paula takes great care in her glovemaking. Nine Singer sewing machines fill a never-to-be-disclosed location in Italy where very serious sewers handmake her designs stich by stich, seam by seam, in careful form that can only be described as artistry.

Her flagship store in Dublin is the one and only in the entire world. But for a mere five euros, she'll ship them internationally. Who do you glove?