Not sure if this has been reported yet, but I believe the new update for Warband messed with the hand armor in shops. After shops "refresh" their inventory, or whatever they do, they no longer sell gauntlets, mittens, gloves, or any hand armor of any type. I also noticed in combat that some of my enemies weren't wearing gauntlets either. Just giving a heads up, since it's a non-issue for me. I usually have Milanese Gauntlets by my second day on Mommy. But, it does become a pain if you're trying to equip companions.