By Jacquie Foote Well … its early spring cleaning time…
By Jacquie Foote Well ... its early spring cleaning time again, so ... its back to aprons. As you may remember, wall paintings in Egyptian…
By Jacquie Foote
Well … its early spring cleaning time again, so … its back to aprons. As you may remember, wall paintings in Egyptian temples showed aprons being used in religious rites, especially when burnt offerings and blood sacrifices of various animals were involved. And around 2200 B.C., the Melchizedek Priesthood was making ceremonial aprons out of white lambskin.
Even before then, in the third chapter of Genesis, it is written, “and the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” This would make the apron the most ancient of all garments. The word apron came from “naperon,” the old French word for napkin or small tablecloth.
From these beginnings, aprons have evolved into a dozen different shapes and styles. Up to and including the 12th century, aprons were considered as much a part of mens wear as of womens. In fact, some experts say that, in early times, mostly it was men from special professions (blacksmiths, butchers, servants, etc.) who wore them, and, over time, women of all ages and ranks began to wear them, too.
Once aprons became an established part of a womans wardrobe, women have embellished them, making them both practical and beautiful. Lace, trim, rickrack, ruffles, bows, pockets and ribbon have been added.
At the beginning, aprons were mostly full length, what we might call smocks today. It wasnt until the 14th century that dark-colored aprons that tied at the waist came into style.
By the 16th and 17th centuries, colors had a good deal of importance, as they denoted the trade of the wearer. For example, English barbers wore a checked pattern; butchers and porters, green; and masons, white.
The 18th century saw the advent of the pinafore apron, so called because it was worn in front and was “pinned” to the clothing. The pinafore was often white. Over time, when the garment became more a three-quarter affair than just a front-side covering and a button was added to the neck in back, it became a must for little girls.
The 19th and 20th centuries saw the greatest changes in the simple garment called apron.
For information on the events at the Geauga County Historical Society’s Burton Century Village Museum, call 440-834-1492 or visit www.geauga
historical.org.
