Queen Elizabeth I wore perfumed gloves largely because it was a genuinely fashionable and status-signalling practice among European nobility at the time, popularised partly through Italian and French court influence, and because leather gloves of that era often needed scenting to mask the smell of the tanning process used to make them.

Fashion, status, and practicality combined

Perfumed gloves became a serious European fashion statement during the 16th century, closely tied to the same trend that helped establish Grasse’s perfume industry, covered in our related answer on how a tannery town became the centre of the perfume industry. Wearing elaborately scented, often beautifully embroidered gloves was a visible marker of wealth and refinement among royalty and nobility, and Elizabeth I, known for her elaborate and carefully curated public image, embraced the trend as part of projecting sophistication and majesty.

There was a practical element too, leather at the time genuinely carried an unpleasant odour from the tanning process, and scenting gloves helped mask this while adding luxury and personal signature to an otherwise everyday accessory. We cover the specific aromatics used to scent gloves like this in our related answer on what perfumed gloves were scented with in the 16th century. Our history of perfume guide covers this era fully, and the complete guide to perfume has the wider historical picture.