These are just 3 out of my collection of lovely kitchen aprons, but perhaps a bit more interesting and seasonal than others I have, which are more generic, like a cotton gingham check without any specific theme. Many aprons, like the first one here, were specifically themed for a particular holiday or fashion era. It’s a great example, with bright color and a novelty print for Thanksgiving. Although it’s definitely trendy and targeted, it is also at least somewhat practical because of the machine-washable fabric, wraparound style, secure ties and big pocket. It could actually do the job of keeping the cook’s skirt clean. The most useful styles also covered the bodice.

The usefulness is really important, but I love the novelty print. It’s always good to play the hostess in something that also makes people smile. The two aprons following are entirely different in their purpose. These are made from a much more delicate fabric and would be best washed by hand, both because of their delicacy and because they are hand-painted. They were made for and gifted to my grandmother by a relative who at least did the painting herself, if not the sewing job. Gifts like this were common in her day, and cherished. These aprons were made not so much to protect clothing as to be pretty. Grandma might have worn them when she had her friends in for tea or a card game, maybe even for hosting an at-home cocktail party. The messy part of the hostess job would have already been done when she made the cake or other refreshments beforehand.

Aprons were much more commonly worn in decades past and were a significant part of a woman’s household wardrobe, like housedresses worn on cleaning day. Most women’s (especially married women’s) lives were organized around a routine of household duties throughout the week and each one usually required a different kind of outfit – one for cooking, one cleaning, one for tending plants, one for doing the weekly shopping. Special accessories to these outfits were needed for certain jobs, such as gloves of various kinds, hats of various kinds, nursing bras and pads to protect clothing from breast milk and burping babies. Housewives were trained to be very practical and were rewarded by Society for a job well-done. The home was their workplace and the role defined them, so their household wardrobe had a central place in their lives. For better or for worse, that was the way it was. Do we want that again? Think about it and keep your eyes on the clues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

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