Director of the Museum at FIT and fashion historian Dr. Valerie Steele explains "from the Gilded Age and late 19th century, opera gloves were part of a long history of glove-wearing as a status symbol for elite people—both male and female (but by the late 19th century, mostly female)." And that's where things get a little bit more sultry. "The hand being the organ of touch was eroticized, so we came to cover it up. And that led to all sorts of connotations. But there was also a class thing—middle and upper class women always wore gloves outside to keep their skin pristine and soft." And this of course has led to a sexy and formal connotation which has taken the forefront more recently. "It's no longer the marker of class, but it is the marker of an exclusive occasion," says Dr. Steele.