// 	Important Dates in the History of Opera Gloves
//	Compiled by David Biggs, JB
//
1566
Queen Elizabeth I of England is reported as wearing an 18-inch-long pair of white leather gauntlets, with two inches of gold fringe, at a ceremony at Oxford.
1690
Queen Mary II wears white elbow-length gloves
1796
Over-the-elbow gloves, as we know them, first became popular as standard items of fashion around the time of Napoleon I, though long gloves were already coming into fashion while he was still making his military reputation in Italy.
1804
Napoleon himself was a great lover of gloves; he is reported, as of 1806, to have in his wardrobe no fewer than 240 pairs of gloves! He was very much appreciative of beautiful and interesting feminine attire, and encouraged his Empress, Josephine, and the other ladies of his court to dress in the height of style and fashion. For example, at his and Josephine's coronation in 1804, the gloves made for the ceremony cost thirty-three francs per pair, a considerable sum in these days - but then, good gloves have always been costly! 
1810
Starting from about 1810, sleeves began to grow longer, and the length of gloves in most cases shortened correspondingly. However, long gloves were still customarily worn with formal dress until around 1825.
1883
Sarah Bernhardt wears elbow-length white mousquetaire gloves in one of her roles. Mme. Bernhardt had rather thin arms (by the standards of those days), and the long mousquetaires she wore onstage flattered her arms and hands perfectly, and drew attention to their expressive movements whenever she took the stage. 
1961
Audrey Hepburn, in particular, is known for her love for the so-called "three-quarter" length of glove (reaching to just below the elbow), and her gloved image as Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's"  is indelibly imprinted on the public's mind.
1997
Kate Winslett wears white kid opera gloves in "Titanic".