The creative folks at Ethel Gloves approached me, and asked if I might want to review their gloves, and ultimately share my thoughts with you. Upon accepting their offer, I was sent a complimentary pair of Ethel Gloves. It is my intention to present a fair, unbiased, and informative review for you.

I had never heard of Ethel Gloves before, but in researching their website, they are widely distributed. I like their philosophy of gloves created for women gardeners, which focus on fashion, function, and protection. Their product packaging alone was enough to woo one over, clever and beautifully designed.

My initial reaction when I put my new Ethel Gloves on was similar to wearing my winter leather car-driving gloves...classy. Instantly I felt fashionable in my garden gloves, something I've never experienced before. I have a small hand, and received a size small, which fit my hand nicely. The gloves come in S, M, and L. The glove conforms to your hand easily and has reinforced finger tips and palm surface for protection. An elasticized cuff, keeps your gloves comfortably in place. So fashion was good, nice fit, and many styles to choose from.

Putting on my Ethel Gloves, I started my hands-on gardening practices. I was pleasantly surprised at the great hand dexterity in holding tools, clipping plants, and best of all, creating my vintage container designs. In my designs I'm working with chop sticks, tiny spaces, intricate placing of plants, and usually without the aid of my garden gloves, but Ethel Gloves are like a second comfortable skin and worked well throughout my designs. So function, was very good.

I consider myself a bit of a "guerrilla gardener". In one week I helped move a wood pile, trimmed and mulched over 30 rose bushes, and tended to my black berry bushes, wearing my new Ethel Gloves. For these heavy duty chores where thorns and splinters lurk, I could have used a little more protection from my Ethel Gloves. So protection was only fair. Please note, Ethel Gloves does have a specific "rose glove" available. However, we all have a wardrobe of clothes and shoes for specific activities and functions. If you are an avid gardener, why not have a wardrobe of garden gloves to choose from as well.

The Ethel Gloves shown above are the Gala model, priced at $20.00, black with contrasting grey fleur-de-lis pattern, and black palm. This glove is machine washable. For more information on Ethel Gloves, please go to Ethel Gloves.