Driving gloves are an interesting article of clothing. Watch almost any old-school movie with a car chase and the Baddie will almost always be wearing driving gloves. They look incredibly cool in the movie and instill a desire to own them. However, in the real world, driving gloves can make you look like a massive poser.

Personally, I like driving gloves, especially in the winter. I care more about the functionality of them more so than the look. In the winter especially, driving gloves can help you hold the steering wheel without your hands freezing. And overall, driving gloves allow you to grip the steering wheel better. And under the right circumstances, driving gloves do look very cool. Autodromo makes some cool looking driving gloves.

I think the right circumstances depend on the type of car being driven. Any classic car can justify the use of driving gloves. Especially classic sports cars, like an old Triumph, Jag or BMW. It makes it even cooler when the car has a wooden steering wheel because not only does it add to the old-school look, driving gloves actually help grip a wooden steering wheel quite well. It’s also just plain cool.

However, if you drive an 04 Subaru WRX, driving gloves do not look cool. In fact they would make you look like you’re trying too much . That’s just not the kind of car suited to the classic style of driving gloves.

So basically, driving gloves are cool in the right circumstances. If you have an old, classic car, buy a pair of driving gloves and keep them where they belong — in the glove box. If you have a WRX, well, don’t.