Confession time: I like aprons. I’ve been wanting a cute 50’s apron, and the other day I found one! Along with a bunch of other items like tablecloths and laundry bags, etc. Anyway it’s in a cute fruity print with red rick-rack. Buying this apron made my day, I tell you! The latest trend of retro 50’s kitchen stuff is really working for me, and I may buy some embroidered dishtowels too. I’ve been meaning to do my own, but haven’t had time. I’d really like a set of day-of-the-week ones, with chores on them…
Now, I only need a white lawn apron with lace for fancy occasions and I’m set. I’ve been thinking I probably ought to make one, since I don’t see a lot of fancy aprons around.
Anyway, so do you like aprons? Have several? Or are you more of a teacozy or dishtowel person? Am I the only one who likes goofy stuff like that?
I’ll occasionally wear an apron, but not too often. Mostly when my niece and I are cooking something. I should try to dig up my mother’s old ones. They were mostly Christmas themes.
Something you just don’t see anymore: Bathing caps. They made us wear them at the community pool when I was a kid, and I don’t think anyone wears them anymore. Wonder why…
I did not know that a dishtowel qualified as “outdated.” I keep one on my left shoulder while I’m cooking dinner and it usually stays there until I’m done cleaning up. I don’t know where I picked it up, but I’ve just always done it.
For cool old kitchen stuff nothing beats the old grater that attaches to the side of the counter (with a C clamp type fastener) and you turn the crank to grate cheese, carrots, eggs, whatever.
My grandmother has several old aprons. I’ll have to look through them next time I’m there.
I’ll admit it too, Dangermom, I also love to collect aprons. Most of mine are from Germany, from when my mom was a young lady and newly married in the early '60’s, and my favorite is made of a sheer material embroidered with strawberries and has little red ribbons on the pockets. I don’t wear aprons, though; I’m like Rez in that I keep a dishtowel slung over my shoulder while I’m cooking.
I love going to yard sales, thrift stores, consignment shops, and such in the hopes that someone is giving up mom’s or grandmom’s aprons…
I remember once watching a show on Popular Mechanics about “revolutionary kitchen helpers of the future” that was aired back in the 50’s. Some of the gadgets they had back then seemed to work even better than most things we have here today. The one thing they had that really looked cool was an egg beater that had these two little weights on the top. When the operator turned the hand crank, the weights spun around and used centrifical force to take the strain off the wrist of the user. Man I thought that was so cool .There were many other devices that seemed to work great and none of them used electricity, meaning that the user could take them anywhere, picnics, outings, ect. without needing generators or expensive batteries. I would LOVE to get my hands on some gadgets like that today.
For those of you with sewing capabilities, Simplicity offers some cute retro-esque styles, as does Butterick.
I like aprons for very messy chores-hell, I tend to get splashed washing dishes. Unfortunately, I don’t have any, at the moment, so I just rely on dish towels.
They were also great when I was in high school and taking lots of art classes.
Somewhere at home, I still have a late 50s/early 60s apron my grandmother brought back from one of her many trips to Portugal: black, two curved pockets, with all sorts of fancy embroidery: stick-figured women in fancy skirts with baskets on their heads, and two-inch letters declaring it was from “PORTUGAL”.
Heck, I still wear shorts and t-shirt while cooking: who needs pearls while they microwave? Although, mebbe our moms did have something there, with the convection oven and cooktop range.
I think what I like about aprons is that they are extremely practical as well as possibly cute. I spent a lot of time working in bakeries and got to like the ability to wipe my hands on my front instead of finding a towel. I have very little use for useless doodads or clothing, especially in the kitchen, so it must be that that I like.
Sorry, Rex, didn’t mean to say that dishtowels aren’t modern…who could survive without dishtowels?
Cooking a good meal for that most ‘special’ friend whilst wearing an apron (and nothing else) can be highly entertaining. But then again I am a bit of a perve
I make aprons, using towels (my favorites are patterned ones that I find at thrift stores) and salvaged fabric which backs the towels and forms the neck loop and the belt tie. I’ve been giving them as presents for years, and now that I have a little more time on my hands (Mr. TeaElle retired as of April 1, and is home full-time, hurrah!) I’m thinking about making up a bunch to sell at the charity handicraft sale at our local community festival.
I can share the pattern if anybody’s interested. The diagrams are very crudely hand-drawn in Photoshop with my graphics tablet, but it’s illustrative, and it’s so simple that it can be replicated without the drawings, really.
I could own every one of the vintage ones of days gone by.
I don’t wear it. I just like 'em
The rose colored memories of women chained to the stove cooking all day for the kids to wolf down the meal . I really don’t need one to cook up ramen noodle soup, but it is the tradition of it all that appeals to the female-girly-girl deeply hidden in my DNA.
You can make a very retard-proof apron with old vintage pillow cases that are always to be had everywhere for mere pennies.
Retard proof meaning that I, the gal who rode the short bus to craft school, have made probably twenty aprons out of cool faded, soft pillow cases. Everyone loves them that I foist them off on.
If you want, I can type down the instructions from the magazine. Ready Made Magazine. It isn’t in their archives, regretfully.
.There were many other devices that seemed to work great and none of them used electricity, meaning that the user could take them anywhere, picnics, outings, ect. without needing generators or expensive batteries. I would LOVE to get my hands on some gadgets like that today.