Garden gloves review: Ethel gloves

Ethel gloves are both stylish and funtional

The garden writing world has been abuzz about Ethel gloves. It's not just that the company has put some thought into how to reach real gardeners, it's that many of us are women and, face it, women love a company that thinks of them as sophisticated consumers.

These gloves are clearly feminine, but there is nothing pink or cute about them.In fact, these gloves are just darned appealing in colors and designs that you don't usually see in garden gloves. These gloves have STYLE.

But Ethel gloves are not just about style. They can be real workhorses in the garden.

Description: Ethel gloves are made of a four-way stretch Spandex on the upper side of the hand and breathable, synthetic leather material on the fingers and palms. The cuff is elasticized and extends about three inches past the wrist. Fingertips are reinforced and the first three fingers of the glove have a rubberized design that also serves to improve your grip. A small tab with a button hole allows you to run a string through or hang them, although the button hole is rather small for hanging.

Style: Ethel gloves come in five gorgeous styles. I couldn't decide which I liked best. Signature is the classic style in rich brown and accented with a melon color fabric and diamond-pattern stitching. Expression is a contemporary take on houndstooth in a red-on-red color scheme. Gala is the classic black in the series with a fleur-de-lis pattern. Rendezvous (pictured) is chartreuse accented with a yellow fleur-de-lis pattern. Jubilee is a muted blue with a fleur-de-lis pattern.

Fit: There is no doubt that these gloves are designed for a woman's hand. They fit snugly so you feel secure, but don't bind. Sizes seem true, although the large was just a wee bit short in the fingers for my hands. Still, it didn't interfere with the overall comfort or impact performance. The elasticized wrist keeps the glove secure but allows for easy-on, easy-off.

Best uses: These gloves can be workhorses. They provide protection without making you feel that you're wearing those farm gloves that men often wear. If I had been wearing them while cleaning up my daylilies with my ultra-sharp Fiskars pruners, I wouldn't have had to go to the emergency room for stitches. They are also good for heavy weeding and can even do for some light pruning of some of the less threatening rose bushes.

Disadvantages: Ethel gloves can be difficult to find in retailers. It will probably be years before my local garden center sharpens up and stocks them. At least in the meantime they are available on the Internet.

Washability: These gloves hold up after multiple machine washings and drying.

Durability: Excellent. Finger seams are double-stiched for extra durability.

Extras: Ethel gloves has a website that is as beautiful as the gloves. Check out their blog with stories of people who wear Ethel gloves. They also have a small blogroll. I'm sure you'll see the National Gardening Examiner featured soon, as well as her own garden blog.

Price: $18

Overall rating: Excellent

How we tested: All gloves in this review series were tested in the author's real-world garden with her very own real-world hands. Activities the gloves were subjected to included weeding, pruning, digging, hauling, planting, watering, deadheading, scratching (bugs, you know), wiping sweat from brow and hoisting multiple glasses of iced tea.

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