Aprons have made a comeback, it is about time! No clue why they ever went out. Maybe it is just me, but when I am cooking or cleaning up after a meal I inevitably spill/splatter/splash something on myself – more importantly my clothes. For anyone who is in the kitchen as much as I am (hey – not all eating, some cooking too!) that means a lot of stains to get out. This is where the apron comes in. All I have to do is throw on an apron and I am good to go – no more dirty clothes. At first I only felt apron worthy when canning or baking batch after batch of Christmas cookies, but I have gotten over that and now can be found every evening sporting one as I get dinner ready. Now, don’t envision me in an apron protecting a beautiful dress, pantyhose and jewelry – it is not likely! It is typically only a t-shirt and jeans that I am protecting, but a tomato stain on a 1950′s dress looks just as bad as a tomato stain on a t-shirt. 
I have a collection of aprons mostly from estate sales – I do have my favorites that are used most often. I have some of the 1/2 aprons, very cute but I do not see the benefit - I need full coverage. This year a good friend gave me the most beautiful apron for my birthday – it is so pretty I don’t know if I can bear to wear it while cooking for fear of getting something on it! It is most likely the closest thing to a dress I will ever wear (I swore off pantyhose and dresses when I quit working in an office 16 years ago and I must say I have not missed them at all) Perhaps aprons went by the wayside because any semblance of domestic work was frowned upon – but now that they are “in” again dig out that old apron and get cooking!
awhile ago someone e-mailed this article on the apron, and if this doesn’t make you want to wear one I don’t know what will 
The History of APRONS
The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron’ that served so many purposes.
