You can almost feel the thinly soft fabric of this much used and often washed vintage apron.
It's interesting the roll of generations play in whether a woman wears an apron or not. Years ago women usually made their own full aprons in order to protect their dresses. Doing laundry was not a simple matter of throwing everything into an automatic washer and walking away. It was a daylong chore and the less often it had to be done, the better. (I think we can all agree on that one even with our automatic everythings.) So an apron was donned in the morning and not taken off until bedtime. The apron may look a mess from the day's activity of cooking and cleaning and gathering eggs (or whatever) but the dress underneath stayed clean and presentable.
My mother didn't wear full aprons, though I do have an awesome 60s cover-up that she owned but rarely wore. She was a half apron devotee and always wore one when working in the kitchen. But it was put on and taken off as needed and definitely not worn all day long. While the half apron was zero protective of the upper half of the body it was great to use to wipe hands and keep the lower half of the clothing clean. It was a vestige of an apron. A remnant of the symbol it once was. A token protection.
I believe it was during my mother's generation that the hostess apron came into vogue. There are some great examples of hostess aprons made of organdy and laces and were put on after all the messy cooking was finished and before the guests arrived. These were fancy affairs and worn to compliment an outfit, not to do much in the way of protecting. Any vintage hostess apron I come across is rarely stained or looks in anyway like it was put through any cooking regimen.
My generation seemed to turn their backs on apron wearing completely. If our moms worn one then we certainly weren't going to wear one. Old style. Old fashioned. Square. So our clothes became stained with tomato sauce and splattered oil and we kept doing out stupid best to keep our clothes clean, which clearly didn't include the obvious matter of putting on an apron.
My personal light bulb went off when I thought to make an apron from a vintage pattern. Because I love most things vintage it made sense to go that route rather than something out of a current pattern book. Once I made that first one I was a goner and have been going strong ever since, wearing and sewing. If I am going into the kitchen to handle food and dishes I grab my apron from its hook inside the doorway, tying it on as I walk into the room. I don't wear it daylong and have the crazy habit of taking it off before sitting down to eat. (But a fabric napkin protects my lap and cleans my messy fingers).
It is interesting to note that what I sell almost exclusively are my full aprons. We have come full circle and women are starting to "get it" once again.
