Let’s Discuss: Did Amal Clooney Wear Gloves to Avoid Engagement Ring Questions?
She wasn’t nominated for anything, she doesn’t even work in entertainment, but from the moment Amal Alamuddin Clooney stepped onto the Golden Globes red carpet—her first red carpet appearance, by the way—her choice to wear white opera gloves became the fashion moment of the night.
Mere moments after their debut #AmalsGloves began trending on Twitter, and roughly three-hours after that, the Twitter account “AmalsGloves” debuted with the Tweet: “I was so nervous about tonight’s debut, so I am grateful for everyone’s warm reception. We fit together like a hand in-well, you know.”
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The instant buzz harkened back to one of 2012’s biggest pop culture moments when Angelina Jolie appeared on the red carpet at the Academy Awards posing in a black velvet gown, with a very high slit, showing off quite a bit of her right leg, a moment which then turned into the Internet meme “Angie’s Right Leg.”
So how exactly did these white opera length gloves, which Clooney paired with a Dior Haute Couture black Grecian gown, 29.62 carats worth of Harry Winston diamonds, and a bag with a “Je Suis Charlie” pin referencing the recent French terrorist attacks come to be?
Her husband (you know, that movie star she’s married to) said on the red carpet: “She sewed them this morning…She’s very handy.” It was a bit hard to tell if this was a joke, but Clooney did confirm that the gloves weren’t part of the Dior outfit, and were a personal addition. “The gloves are just my own,” she casually said.
Opinions on the gloves among the style set were instantly mixed. Fashion designer Liz Lange took to Twitter to say: “I worshipped Amal’s wedding weekend style but gloves at the #goldenglobes? Tacky. I’m sorry.” Jessica Morgan of The Fug Girls wrote: “Ugh, Amal would look so much better without those gloves. Is she going to be checking for dust at her table?” The New York Times’ fashion critic Vanessa Friedman opined: “I really hope Amal Clooney does not start a return to white gloves trend.”
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On the other end of the spectrum were the gloves’ supporters. Longtime Wall Street Journal fashion writer Teri Agins’ take on the fashion moment: “The Clooneys have arrived and Amal is regal and gorgeous in black…love the white gloves!” Vogue.com’s Edward Barsamian had an equally rosy take: “Amal Clooney in one shoulder dress and gloves. Old Hollywood still exists.”
Clooney is certainly in good company with her choice to wear evening gloves, following the likes of Rita Hayworth in “Gilda” and Marilyn Monroe in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”. Similarly Audrey Hepburn was a huge fan of evening gloves for her red carpet appearances. There are definitely far worse people for Clooney to be sourcing red carpet inspiration from, even if the stars who loved them were in their heyday over a half-century ago.
Beyond emulating silver screen sirens, the gloves allowed Clooney to stay above the red carpet fray (which likely was deliberate). In them, she got to avoid being asked by red carpet reporters to show off her engagement ring, while simultaneously avoiding being subjected to the now ubiquitous red carpet mani cams, where actresses on the red carpet show off close-ups of their manicures. Let’s not forget she’s a human rights lawyer, and far too important to do such a thing (wink wink, nudge nudge).
Perhaps the gloves felt like such a big fashion moment this year in particular because of the abundance of naked dresses on the red carpet—Rosamund Pike showed off side cleavage in Vera Wang, Jennifer Lopez wore Zuhair Murad with a barely-there neckline, and Kate Hudson revealed just about everything in Versace. Covering up, ironically, seemed like some kind of a statement.
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Gloves might be a pretty unconventional red carpet choice, but at the end of the day, they’re really just gloves. Remember when Lara Flynn Boyle showed up to the Golden Globes dressed up as a ballerina? Now that was something to talk about.
Share your thoughts on Amal Clooney’s white Golden Globes gloves in the comments below!
