Vintage Aprons - We Need A Revival

When did we stop wearing aprons around the house? They make so much sense to me. Perhaps it's something to do with the easy come easy go attitude sparked by fast fashion. When aprons were last popular in the 1950s and 1960s, for most people new clothes were something to save up for and be cherished. Today not only are there mass-produced cheap clothing companies advocating "wear it and ditch it" clothing, but most high street shops and websites have permeant sale sections so it's far easier to pick up a bargain.

I'm no better - I don't wear an apron for cleaning, not even for house painting sometimes. I'm ashamed to admit if I get a blob of paint on my top (and I always do) I think "oh well, good excuse to buy a new one". There was a time when ladies wouldn't even put their makeup on without wearing some sort of protective shoulder cape. How times have changed.

The origins of the humble pinny go way back in time. In fact, you need to look to Latin to trace the roots of the word “apron”, originally “mappa”, which meant both tablecloth and map. If you spread a large map out on a table, it's a lot like a tablecloth so I suppose it made sense at the time!  From there perhaps we all started tucking them into our shirt so we were literally started wearing the table cloth to keep our attire crumb-free - there's an image to behold. 

Nowadays we tend to associate them with workwear to identify a member of staff with a branded tabard for example.  A far cry from the beauties we get from time to time nestled with our true vintage dresses. 

Mostly from the 1950s and 1960s when there were lots of beautiful homemade examples around. They were as much of a fashion item as any other garment at the time.

Sadly, we talk about PPE at the moment, and we think of PVC visors and full-body suits complete with a respirator. I think it's about time we started to think more carefully about the clothing we choose. More than 300,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year, according to Wrap, the waste charity. It said that 5 per cent of the UK's total annual carbon and water footprint came from clothing consumption. The fact that you enjoy the Revival Vintage blog posts already demonstrates you have an interest in re-cycled vintage clothing and our classic vintage-inspired slow fashion items.  Read more about the truth behind fast fashion in our previous blog post.

A natural next step is for us all to start wearing aprons or housecoats again to protect the better quality more considered choices we make with our clothing.  My daughter bought me a lovely apron and I have avoided wearing it so that I don't spill anything on it, I mean how mad is that when all I need to do is buy or make another apron to cover my original apron!