Ladies' evening gloves are long gloves worn by adult women as formal wear, usually to a formal outfit such as an evening gown or wedding dress. The longer the glove, the higher the formality. Among them, the longest evening gloves are called "opera gloves". The "elbow-length or longer" part is the key; gloves which cover a substantial portion of the forearm, up to just below the elbow, can legitimately be called "long gloves" or "evening gloves", but never "Opera Gloves". In this instance the term "Opera" probably has more to do with the length than occasion, as is also seen in "Opera Length Gloves" and "Opera Length Pearls".The first people to wear gloves in medieval Europe were members of royalty and dignitaries in the Roman Catholic Church, the dominant church in Europe. For church dignitaries, or notable figures, gloves were a symbol of purity.