Gloves

The classic US cop glove is a short glove that stops at the wrist, fashioned from soft leather, usually cowhide. This style is best associated with Damascus - a company that has been making leather goods for the police and military since 1955. In the UK there are various stockists - try Niton999, Hard Wear, and eBay.

There is a growing trend among leathermen for the driving glove - a tight fitting short cuff style with cut outs on the back of the glove. These can give a very horny look to a cop or biker style outfit, but probably aren’t best suited the dress leather uniform style.

Gauntlets are another hot glove. These are usually made of heavier leather and have an extended cuff that extends over the lower forearm. They are derived from the armour worn by medieval knights and in the 20th century made popular by motorcyclists. These do work with a leather uniform as well as the retro biker image.

To measure your hands for gloves, wrap a tape measure around your hand across the palm of your dominant hand at its widest part. Then measure from the tip of your middle figure of that hand to the base of the hand. Use the largest of these measurements to determine your glove size:

18 cm - XS
20 cm - S
23 cm - M
25 cm - L
28 cm - XL
30 cm - XXL

Most guys like their gloves to be tight, rather than loose. However, don’t be tempted to go for a size smaller than your measurements since you might have trouble getting your hand into the glove and find movement restricted.