From manufacturer to manufacturer and across different types and materials of gloves, sizing is not always consistent. A "large" from one manufacturer may be considered an "extra large" by another. Even gloves from the same manufacturer may be different, due to changes in the machines used for production, the effects of natural materials, or simply how a glove of a particular type is supposed to fit (e.g., disposable gloves generally have a very tight fit, but ski gloves may feel more comfortable with looser fit.) Leather gloves will tend to stretch and conform to the shape of the hand with use.

Gloves are generally sized by measuring the circumference around the dominant hand just below the knuckles, and excluding the thumb. The number of inches corresponds to a size. Of course, the problem with this system is that someone may have fat hands and short fingers or skinny hands and long fingers. However, unlike manufacturers of pants (which produce pants of various waist sizes and inseam length combinations), glove manufacturers more or less target each size for the "average" hand. Fortunately, pants manufacturers are not so limited or there would be lots of men with 34 inch waists walking around with pants legs that greatly overlap their shoes to drag on the floor... or which cut-off well above their ankles! The simple sizing structure for gloves has an exception: a "cadet small". This size of gloves has shorter fingers than is typical for a small sized hand. Complicating things a bit more, men's and ladies sizes vary from 1 to 2 1/2 sizes apart, depending on the specific size. For example, a men's extra small is generally equivalent to a women's medium, a men's small is a women's large, and a men's medium is a women's 3XL.

Industrial color classifications, and sizes for men's gloves:

LEATHER LAYERS - Grain cowhide leather is smooth as it comes from the exterior layer of the animal. Grain leather is soft, flexible and very durable. Split leather is the rough side of the leather, and is the layer beneath the surface of the cow.

CUTS OF LEATHER - Side split covers the rib area, and is premium leather. Shoulder split is the portion of the hide on the neck and shoulder of the animal. Belly split is from the belly and is generally used for economy grade gloves.

Disposable gloves have a material thickness attribute. This thickness unit of measurement is commonly referred to as "mil". However, "mil" is sometimes confused with "mm". These are totally different measurement systems. 1 mil equals 1/1000th of an inch. 1mm equals 1 milimeter. 1 mil = 0.0254 millimeters. A glove that is 5mil thick is quite different than one that is 5mm thick (a thickness which is quite unlikely for a disposable glove)

When measuring gloves for thickness, different parts of the glove may be found to have different thicknesses. The material in the palm and fingertips is often thicker than other parts of the glove.