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The apron
came about because of practical necessity. In years gone by, people didn't
have the luxury of owning a large wardrobe. Washing and drying clothing
was not done on a frequent basis. So aprons served a practical purpose of
covering up the dress underneath to project it from soiling. This made
washing much easier. The apron would be washed every couple of days but
the dress or clothing underneath did not have to be washed as much,
perhaps maybe once a week. Later they began serving as decorative purpose
also. Not just housewives wore aprons; school teachers, children,
shop-keepers, and secretaries wore different styles of aprons over their
clothing every day.
In the 1920's and '30's aprons followed the silhouette of the dress -
long, with no waist line. By the 1940's, aprons gained a cinched
waistline, and were often gaily trimmed with rick-rack, buttons, and
pockets of contrasting color. Many aprons were made from feed cloth. Feed
cloth was a heavier fabric and was used as a sack to put seed or four in
that farmers used. There was no wasting back then, when the sacks were
empty,. the feedsack fabric was used for quilts and aprons. In fact, when
the apron had "seen its day" and was ready to be tossed, the best parts
were cut out and used for quilts.
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The 1950's brought out the half-aprons of highly starched cotton,
feedsack, and sheer ( a see- through fabric) trimmed with lace
for special occasions. Also two- piece aprons and short smocks of
bright cotton prints for every day use were popular. |
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At
one point, Aprons were a serious fashion element, not just an afterthought
cover-up! Today the more rugged utilitarian aprons are still in use. The
old-fashioned pretty cotton ones are hard to find. The modern aprons are
available in both printed and hand stitched designs in a bouquet of
appealing color.
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