Aprons are like umbrellas: you either embrace them or reject them. I fall into the latter category. I’d rather end up with flour on my pants than don and doff an apron — it just seems like too much work.
But for as long as people have been cooking, baking, housekeeping, and doing any number of other chores, there have been aprons to protect clothing from the hazards of each messy pursuit. All of today’s images are from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Click on any picture for a larger version.
With the holidays approaching, many of you will break out your aprons. They’ve been enjoying a bit of a revival in recent years, thanks in part to the intense interest people now have in gourmet cooking.
For many women, and a few men, aprons were a regular part of the wardrobe up until the mid-1960s. And they weren’t just practical — they were very much a fashion statement.
There are many types of aprons, including cobblers’ aprons (which cover the front and the back) and pinafores, which are more like shoulder-less dresses. Here’s an example of a pinafore:
As I said, aprons weren’t just for cooking or housekeeping. My mother had several “cocktail aprons” that served little functional purpose other than to designate her as the host. These frilly numbers provided no real protection, especially from spilled gin.
Many of the images in today’s column are from an era when women sometimes sewed their own clothing. Aprons were the perfect craft item: Simple enough to churn out in quantity and also functional. Like potholders.
Aprons were, in fact, often given as gifts. There were holiday-themed aprons, outdoor aprons, and different-colored aprons to go with different outfits. And who can resist an apron that looks like a clock?
If you were a little too close to your mother or a bit afraid of the real world, you were said to be “tied to your mother’s apron strings.” I don’t know if women ever actually tied their children to their apron strings, but nothing would surprise me, especially in the 1950s.
I’m not planning on cooking a big Thanksgiving meal this year and may go out for a pizza instead. But even if I was cooking, I would take my chances with everything from cranberry sauce to gravy and be sure to wear something that wouldn’t show the stains.
I don’t know what it says about you if you’re an apron person. Maybe that you take your cooking seriously, and are practical and sensible and I’d probably like to eat at your house. Or, depending on your taste in aprons, perhaps have a cocktail instead.
Follow Gene on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SAWG
This article was last modified on May 17, 2023
This article was first published on November 19, 2010
Commenting is easier and faster when you're logged in!
