Historically, the craft of glove making was known as a noble profession. Our commitment to offer a high degree of excellence in our products has transcended generations of trades people. We insure that every items has been made from Italian leathers by Italian trained technicians, whether manufacturing has taken place in Italy or at our Philippines facility.

The distinctive characteristics that separate a Portolano glove from our competitors are:

All our leathers are drum dyed during tanning, which provides a special intensity and richness to our color palette.

Because our gloves are hand cut from pre-stretched metisse nappa skin, our gloves are known for their refined fit with tapered fingers for ladies, and varying fingers lengths for men (i.e.-mens cadet sizing). Metisse Nappa Is indigenous to long haired sheep, which graze at very high altitude. As a result, the skins have very tight pores that provide very supple texture & great strength Metisse Suede is obtained by scouring and buffing the leather surface into a luxurious nap.

Skins are calibrated for lining thickness during the cutting stage so that there is no interference with the fit of the glove size and the thickness of the lining. Knitted linings provide warmth in 100% Cashmere or 100% Lambs wool. All our linings are knitted at our Philippines factory from Italian processed yarns. In addition, Portolano manufactures a complete collection of knit products including gloves, hats, scarves and shawls which are produced with the same care and attention to detail as our leather products. Silk linings act as a natural insulator during transitional seasons. Silk retains warmth and draws moisture away from the skin. While providing a very close fit, a silk lining also helps the glove retain its shape. Antron linings act as a synthetic substitute for silk.