Apron

The bib apron (also known as the “French chefs apron” or a “barbecue apron”) has been worn for centuries. The bib apron's humble beginnings began when people used scraps of fabric to make a bib-like covering that slipped over the neck and tied at the back.[1] The bib apron's intuitive design and full coverage have made it a popular apron for tradesmen and people in low-economic classes since the 1880s—and maybe even earlier. In the 1960s—when women no longer wanted an apron that symbolized domestic ideals—the bib apron became the most-used apron and is now offered in a multitude of variations, colors, detailing and fabrications.

Pinafores may be worn by girls and women as a decorative garment or as a protective apron. A related term is pinafore dress (American English: jumper dress); it is a sleeveless dress intended to be worn over a top or blouse.

A pinafore is a full apron with two holes for the arms that is tied or buttoned in the back, usually just below the neck. Pinafores have complete front shaped over shoulder while aprons usually have no bib, or only a smaller one. A child's garment to wear at school or for play would be a pinafore.

Baker's wife,
Argenteuil (Val-d'Oise, France)
in a tabard (U.K.)
or cobbler apron (U.S.) or
sv:Överdragsförkläde (Sweden)[2][3][4]

A tabard (British English; cobbler apron in U.S. English) is a type of apron that covers both the front and back of the body. It is fastened with side ties or with waistbands that tie in the back. It covers most of the upper part of the body and is used in many occupations, like bakeries, hospitals, and large retail stores. The original cobbler's apron was typically made of leather.

An alternative version uses snaps instead of ties and closes at the front. Such an apron is in effect like a vest and is more commonly sold for domestic rather than occupational use.

A bungalow apron is an item of women's at-home clothing. Most bungalow aprons were extremely simple garments, often with kimono sleeves (sleeves cut in one piece with the body of the dress), little or no trim, and the fewest possible fasteners. Most date from the first half of the 20th century (roughly 1910 into the 1940s), when they evolved into or were replaced by the "patio dress" or Lounger available today.

In contrast to most aprons, they were intended to be worn as a stand-alone garment,[5] not over another dress. They probably developed from the full-coverage wraparound or pullover aprons of the early years of the 20th century.

Bungalow aprons fell roughly between nightgowns or house coats and house-dresses; they were appropriate for morning in-home wear but would not have been worn outside of the house, as opposed to a true morning or house-dress, which might have been worn to the grocery store or in other informal situations.

The term apron also refers to an item of clerical clothing, now largely obsolete, worn by Anglican bishops and archdeacons. The clerical apron resembles a short cassock reaching just above the knee, and is colored black for archdeacons and purple for bishops. The apron is worn with black breeches, reaching to just below the knee, and knee-length gaiters. The history behind the vesture is that it symbolically represents the mobility of bishops and archdeacons, who at one time would ride horses to visit various parts of a diocese or archdeaconry. In this sense, the apparel was much more practical than a clerical cassock would be. In latter years, this vesture was more symbolic than practical, and since the mid-twentieth century it has fallen out of favor.

Examples of ancient gods wearing aprons can be found worldwide.[9] Fertility goddess figurines may be the earliest depiction of women wearing aprons. These ancient snake goddess figurines excavated in Crete depicted how Minoan women may have dressed in 1600 BCE: a tight bodice, bare breasts, and an embroidered or woven apron covering a long dress.[1] Monuments and wall paintings in Ancient Egypt depict a triangular-shaped apron with the point upward when the wearer is taking part in some kind of ceremony of initiation. In China, some of the ancient figures of the gods wear semi-circular aprons. In Central America the ancient gods are consistently sculpted wearing aprons. Tepoxtecatl (the preserver) is depicted wearing an apron with a triangular flap. Priests wore similar aprons as a sign of their allegiance to the 'gods' and as a badge of their authority.[9]

Native American wore aprons for both practical and ceremonial purposes.[10] Early female settlers wore plain, long white aprons. Later, Quaker women wore long and colorful silk aprons.[1][11]

As cities in New England grew, more elaborate options began to appear. Upscale American women in the 18th century wore embroidered aprons that sometimes dipped at the front of the waist (so as to not obscure the bodice of a gown).[10]

White Cotton Apron with Lace 1890–1915, Historic Clothing Collection, Smith College, Northampton, MA. 2011.8.125.

Plaid Silk Apron 1840, Historic Clothing Collection, Smith College, Northampton, MA. 1979.7.45.

In England and the United States in the 1800s, both maids and wealthy women wore aprons. Servant aprons were traditionally white and were supposed to be “clean, neat and appropriate.”[12] The maid's clothing was meant to follow the fashion trends of the time while also representing her employer's class status and wealth.[13] Some aprons had lace, embroidery or pleating work on them to add a bit of sophistication if they were servants who regularly appeared in front of house guests.[14]

Wealthy housewives of the time were also expected to show off their family's status in society and their commitment to the domestic life. They did this by also wearing aprons, though the aprons were far more elegant and expensive than the maid's white cotton apron. Popular materials included black lace, satin with chenille borders, shot silk, and satin.[15] An apron of this caliber was necessary with a morning dress during the early nineteenth century for a woman of status.[16] During this time, “never was there a greater rage than for aprons (of satin and shot silk) for morning or afternoon.”[17] The elegant and colorful apron was also a symbol that a woman had the funds to be swindled by travelling merchants into purchasing “a gaudy ribbon or shining pair scissors.”[18]

Another symbol which the extravagant apron represented was of the “fig leaf,” as worn by Eve in the Garden of Eden.[19] Women termed their ornamental aprons “fig leaves,” thus drawing attention to their “sexual region."[19] Small decorated aprons were one example of “suggestive fashion." According to at least one private journal entry, men of the time were reputed to loudly exclaim, "Oh my!" upon spotting a woman in a "fig leaf" apron, sometimes blushing profusely and fainting on the spot.[19]

Aprons for both maids and housewives were not just worn in the home, but out on the town as well. The painting “Scene in Frankfurt Fair, April 1835. Part of the Line of Stalls Extending Along the River Mayn” by Mary Ellen Best shows a mother in a highly decorated and colorful apron and her daughter in a green pinafore apron.[20] They are out shopping in a market and through the appearance of their stylish aprons, they are exhibiting their upper-middle class status as well as their ties to female domesticity.

From 1900 through the 1920s, well-heeled women wore ornate, heavily embroidered aprons.[8] Aprons of the 1920s mirror the style of the times: loose and long. Often closed with a button and adorned with needlework, many aprons styles emerged during this era and stores began selling patterns and kits to make and adorn aprons at home.[1] Aprons of this period followed the silhouette of dapper fashions—long, with no waist line.

The “Hooverette” or “Hoover apron” emerged in the 1930s, named after the man in charge of the U.S. Food Administration at the time, Herbert H. Hoover. Women working outside the home wore whatever protective garments their jobs required, including coveralls, smocks, or aprons. At home, they worked in full-length aprons with hefty pockets and a cinched waistline that were often decorated with buttons, pockets and contrasting colors.[21]

Aprons became plain during the Great Depression. Since fabric was scarce, women would make aprons out of flour and animal-feed sacks to protect their clothing. Pinafore aprons, or “pinnies” as they were affectionately called, began to gain popularity. Dorothy famously wore a blue and white gingham pinafore in The Wizard of Oz.[22]

1950's apron advertisement

Post-war family values made the apron the symbol of home, family, mother and wife. As sewing machines and cloth became available, aprons—both commercial and homemade—became the uniform of the professional housewife.[8] Magazines from the 1940s and 50s feature apron-adorned women in nearly every advertisement that is related to housework or cooking, including those for irons, kitchen appliances, and food products. The 1950s brought out the half-aprons of highly starched cotton, feedsack, and for special occasions sheer fabric trimmed with lace. Two-piece aprons and short smocks of bright cotton prints for every day use were also popular.

The postwar archetypal housewife was practical and creative. She made aprons out of remnants, extra kitchen curtains, dish towels, handkerchiefs, and flour sacks. When she made her aprons, she considered design as well as function.[8] Many 1950s aprons were decorated with sewing, cleaning, cooking, and "mom” themes.

Husbands in the 1950s often sported bib aprons for barbecues on the weekends,[10] often with written statements about Dad's grilling talents.

Aprons fell out of favor as women began looking again beyond the home and family for fulfillment as the feminist movement of the latter half of the 20th century began. In response, people chose to wear no apron when they did their work, or they wore bib aprons that were less stereotypically feminine, sometimes with ironic or sarcastic statements written on them.

Aprons remained a staple of the workplace as a means of protecting garments. Aprons were also worn as a work uniform and by people who worked in the food trades—butchers, waitresses and chefs as well as hairdressers and barbers.

Many home cooks chose not to wear an apron in the 1980s. Those that did often wore bib aprons or vintage/retro DIY aprons. However, more recently the apron has again enjoyed increasing popularity. Employees in the service industry continue to wear aprons for work, often a bib apron with company logos.[1]

The apron is enjoying a resurgence thanks to a few modern cultural factors.[23] The slow food and foodie movements have inspired people to cook for pleasure and not as an act of servitude; the maker movements glorify the process of creating and the behind the scenes making of things; cooking shows use aprons as a professional accessory; and (unlike in past centuries) dirty work is no longer reserved for the underclasses. Today there is no negative social stigma associated with doing ones own chores (such as cooking and cleaning) or pursuing messy hobbies or careers (such as styling, gardening or painting).