Home / Celebrity Style / Touchscreen gloves – put to the fashion test

Touchscreen gloves – put to the fashion test

Dents conductive leather

Leather glove, Dents, £55.20.
Photograph: Dents

While I’m not sure I’ve seen – or indeed worn – a less attractive pair of gloves (the slightly pinched wrist, the Edwardian buttons, I could go on) or worn something which ‘conducts’, texting with these is pretty much the same as texting with your bare fingers. No surprise given that these are the original texting gloves. With these on your hands, your fingers can dance on the screen and type with extraordinary ease and, in a novel twist, every finger is covered with micro conductors. Shame they’re so ugly.

Emoji rating: 😉

‘Fancy a drink?’ rating: 12 seconds

The Scotland Shop – semi fingerless gloves

Striped gloves, Scotland Shop, £12.
Photograph: Scotland Shop

Utter cheats these ones – rather than deploy ‘revolutionary technology’, they’ve just cut two fingers off. Not the worst idea, but you’ll fingers will freeze if you’re cycling. But when you’re using your fingers, they work perfectly well. Nice colours, if a bit ‘fun mum’.

Emoji rating: ¯_(ツ)_/¯

‘Fancy a drink’ rating: 11 seconds

Ugg leather touch screen gloves

Ugg gloves, £90.
Photograph: Ugg

These were a revelation. My winter outdoor texting usually involves shivering in the street, muttering swearwords into the right glove held between my teeth while trying to jab in a message before frostbite kicks in. These look like ordinary leather gloves, but by some kind of voodoo enabled me to text through them. Nice topstitching, lovely woollen lining, and the bi-colour tan and chestnut leather is a sophisticated touch. I’m not crazy about the cream furry trim, mind.

Emoji rating: */*

‘Fancy a drink?’ rating: 13 seconds

Urban Outfitters Chanille Touchscreen Gloves

Black gloves, Urban Outfitters, £10.
Photograph: Urban Outfitters

Chenille makes me cringe. Genuinely. You know, like fur on peaches and fingernails on blackboards. But once you’ve got past that, these look like pretty normal gloves and are relatively touchscreen-friendly. There’s a slight oily feel to them – again, the chenille – but can’t complain for £10

Emoji rating: 🙂

‘Fancy a drink?’ rating: 14 seconds

Muji Long Touchscreen gloves

Long glove, Muji, £9.95.
Photograph: Muji

Muji have a good reputation in the world of texting gloves and these ones don’t disappoint. I could compose messages quickly and – crucial, this – add as many emojis as I liked, despite the gloved finger plus tiny icon conundrum. I also like the grey marl colour and longer length. Fashion, texting and warm hands on the go. Top marks.

Emoji rating: 3 3 3 3 3

‘Fancy a drink?’ rating: 13 seconds

M S Collection Touchscreen gloves

Marks and Spencer glove.
Photograph: Marks and Spencer

These have a lovely soft finish. They also come in classic black and an unusual purple colour – all good stuff for a fashion glove. However, their touchscreen ability proved less than reliable. I had to stab at the screen rather than tap it, and it took three gos to type in the code to unlock my phone. Also, only the thumb and index finger have magic touch screen powers, considerably limiting those who regularly type on their phones. Or answer emails.

Emoji rating: ಠ_ಠ

‘Fancy a drink?’ rating: 34 seconds

About Fashion Brief