Miss Aris
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Aris was a glove manufacturer with roots tracing back to 1910, founded as a European maker of fine leather gloves and knit accessories before establishing operations in the United States. Some accounts date the company's American founding to 1918, when French glovemaker Paul Chanut, along with American glove reseller Larry Stanton, established the Aris Glove Company. Chanut later opened an Aris factory in Saranac Lake, New York, in 1943, where the firm produced both fabric and leather gloves, much of it handsewn, employing local women and eventually fulfilling wartime contracts such as an order for white cotton gloves for the U.S. Navy.
Under labels including "Miss Aris" and "Aris of Paris," the company became known through the mid-20th century for high-quality kid leather fashion gloves for women, prized for both their materials and craftsmanship. Vintage examples from the 1940s through the 1970s, often featuring fine kid leather, decorative stitching, and details like scalloped cuffs, remain popular with collectors of mid-century fashion accessories today.
The Aris name endured through several corporate transformations: Sara Lee Corporation acquired the company in 1974 and renamed it Aris Isotoner after its innovative stretch nylon-and-leather glove, and in 1997 it merged with Totes to form Totes Isotoner Corporation. Because Aris gloves are no longer produced under the original craftsmanship model, well-preserved vintage pairs—particularly the leather styles bearing the "Miss Aris" label—are sought after as representative examples of a once-prominent American glove-making tradition.