Monday, 29 March 2021


This astounding garment is described as "Red wool and vinyl structured Apron Dress" (CdG Blood and Roses Spring 2015 collection.)

What an apron! 

The theme was sparked off by this image.

The NZ Series, "European women who came to settle in Aotearoa/New Zealand, telling their stories in their own words".  I love their aprons, particularly the woman in the centre of this picture. Actually her look is almost school gym frock uniform style, but the other two, highly functional aprons.

Aprons have been in use for thousands of years.

and a cute knitted fig leaf sun pants pattern...it would have cost you 3 pence, presented here, like it used to be, as 3D, which comes from the Roman coin 'denarius'. The pounds, shillings and pence system is linked with Roman currency, when a pound of silver was divided into 240 pence of denarius. Thank goodness we took on the decimal system!

Sweet wee cupie paper dolls. If a little one is learning about 'The Fall', download these pdfs.
https://www.lambsongs.co.nz/Activities%20Bible/Adam%20prop%20and%20apron.pdf


Laurie Anderson sang a song about 'The Fall'.

I have created a fig leaf apron for David, my male mannequin. "He's" quite a character. The first image is an apron on an apron (Michelangelo's David), and the second, well, he's bearing it and wearing it! 


In Ancient Crete, aprons were worn by the sexy fertility goddess.


Central American ancient God, Tepoxtecatl wore an apron with a triangular flap.

Middle Kingdom Egyptian officials wore mid-calf kilts with a large apron, that was probably stiffened to maintain its triangular shape. (Sounds very CdG to me.)

Shakespeare's Julius Caesar has a quote concerning aprons.

Workers are being berated for appearing in 'civvies' on a work day, and not advertising their trade through their aprons and tools. Whether that is a reflection of the Elizabethan era or the Roman republic I am not sure, I suspect the former.

During the Middle Ages aprons were an everyday item of clothing. They were worn by homemakers, working people, tradesmen and artisans.
This section of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's painting 'The Battle Between Carnival and Lent' has many aprons on show.

and his 'Peasants Wedding' and 'Peasant Dance'. 
I love Bruegel's depiction of the everyday man and woman, going about their everyday activities.


I rather like this medieval midwife's apron. Very stylish. 



 The word 'Apron' comes from the Middle English word 'naperon', which means a small tablecloth. The word 'naperon' came from the Old French word 'Nape' 'Nappe', meaning tablecloth, and that word came from the Latin word 'mappa', which meant napkin! "Language is a virus," said Laurie Anderson.



The stonemasons of the Middle Ages inspired the Freemason apron . Stonemason aprons were made from sheepskin, and covered the wearer from chest to ankle. A leather thong around the neck and the waist held the apron in position.
The Freemason's apron originated in the 18th Century, as a symbol of the aprons worn by these Stonemasons, who centuries before demonstrated astounding craft through the construction of fabulous castles and churches. They were elite craftsmen, who formed themselves into guilds. The Freemasons used the apron as a strong symbol, because it reflected the honour involved in undertaking constructive work.
A Freemason apron shape, size, decoration and method of construction reflects the era in which the apron was made.

Apparently the decoration on the apron signifies the role of the particular Freemason who is wearing it.
I really do not know a lot about The Freemasons, apart from the fact that, my Mother's cousin was one, and Inspector John Rebus can always recognise a Freemason handshake.
Crazy Monty Python dealing with that issue!

French artist, Joseph-Claude Bail (1862-1921) painted delightful scenes from daily life depicting comfortable homeliness. I bet it wasn't always necessarily the case, but aprons are a major garment item.



An English manor household maid's role and status was indicated by different styles of aprons 




Housekeeper: Head of the female staff, known as 'Mrs' regardless of marital status.
Cook: Immense power over the reputation of the mistress, when it came to entertaining.
Head Nurse/Nanny: Long standing female employee who had previously been in charge of the young children.
Housemaid: The cleaner of the country house and other endless duties like emptying of chamber pots into the slop bucket!
Kitchenmaid: Part of the team overseeing everything in the kitchen from cleanliness to food production.
Laundry maid: A great asset if she was good at steaming and pressing.
Nursemaid: Nursery support who attended to washing nappies and ensuring the area was kept clean.
Dairymaid: Supported the network of workers who maintained the country house's self-sufficiency.
Scullery maid: "Maid-of-all-work" work revolved around supporting kitchen maids by fetching, carrying, scrubbing and washing.

The white starched aprons of the Florence Nightingale nurses helped to establish medical cleanliness and a nurse's professionalism.
This is a very interesting site covering the history of  Nurse's uniforms. I remember the days, when nurses dressed in a crisp white belted dress, white stockings and shoes, white cap and red cape!
https://femmefashionforward.com/2019/08/01/the-nurse-uniform-attire-practice-florence-nightingale/

One site I researched stated "Aprons are often the first garment made by someone learning to sew". Yes! I remember, in Form 1 going off to the Lumsden Manual Training Centre, and we (the girls) made a white apron and a white cap, which was embroidered with our name. Early beginnings!
The cap was something like this, but without the ribbon. I can just see my Yr.7s making one, mind you sewing an apron wouldn't be too bad a project.

What about men and aprons, as the centuries moved on? They were regularly worn into the 1950s/60s.  I remember the shopkeeper at the Manderville General Store, he wore one, but, then again, when I think about it, was it an overall?
A. 1900, shopkeeper, white working jacket and long apron protecting trousers.
B. 1920s, furniture maker, long full apron.
C. 1920s, carpenter, bib part folded down inside.
D. 1920s, brewery delivery man, oil cloth apron.
E. 1920s, carter, jacket worn over apron, not an uncommon look.
F.  1930s, warehouseman, cotton overall. 

Rei Kawakubo will put men into aprons on the catwalk.
CdG Homme Fall 2009.
In fact Comme des Garcons has often featured aprons.

1988


1994


CdG CdG 2018
I have a wonderful book, 'Simple Clothes and How To Make Them' by Kerstin Lokrantz.
It has great instructions for drafting and making clothes, which connect back to the past, different cultures etc. This section could help you to create the CdG apron with the scalloped edge hem.

I always like CdG's take with an apron as part of a pair of trousers.

I made a pair, years ago, maybe one of the first of my 'solovetosewliketheboys' I created in NZ.

This is my 'Work Project'  An apron is the special feature.

The story connecting with the project can be located via this link.
https://sites.google.com/d/1Pj7MrDvEvb1SD_yrfezc_T1IU7DoH4bj/p/1AjNDy52KnifWAGZi6qicqLAEwEtEHYhY/edit

These are cool aprons some Yr.9 students made in one of my classes, from many years ago. The brief was to reflect your cultural heritage through a fabric creation. Didn't they do well!

I've just made these 2 aprons, using some 'chickens' linen type fabric I was given a while back.
I downloaded the free pattern off this link.
https://www.tessuti-shop.com/collections/free-sewing-patterns

Now, what about pinafores...
In the early 20th century, cotton-print "pinnies" came into vogue.
Pinny comes from pinafore, which refers to an old method of pinning an apron into place on the chest.
Another explanation concerning a pinafore is a "sleeveless garment worn as an apron."  
A pinafore dress is a sleeveless dress intended to be worn over a top or a blouse.
Pinafores are sometimes confused with smocks. Smocks have both sleeves, and a full bodice, both front and back.





 Two sections, from the Lokrantz book I previously mentioned, relate to pinafores.


Comme des Garcons Tricot likes the pinafore look,
so does Comme des Garcons Comme des Garcons.


Actual Comme des Garcons like a pinafore style as well
In the CdG SS 2021 collection it was suggested that Rei Kawakubo had been striving to arrive at a creative resolution for designing in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Dissonance' was the theme, an expression of that inner turmoil and tension, through which we look for harmony and logic.
These are 2 of the creations
and of course, here the look is delivered in a more every day pinafore style.
I have been working on a "Wedgewood Blue' collection, and pinafores feature.


Interesting site relating to pinafores

Another development out of the apron, overall and pinafore is the 'boiler suit'. It appeared in the late 19th century, being adopted by working people, particularly those working in "dirty" trades, e.g. mechanics.
I would be calling this garment 'overalls' or 'dungarees'.
That CdG Blood and Roses Spring 2015 collection mentioned earlier, featured a pair.

I have always loved overalls. I think you can see that in the variety of patterns I have collected over the decades. They never go out of fashion, just get presented with a slightly different cut.



Students have designed and constructed cool overalls.

Some very good work is delivered here, in a Yr.10 project, designing an overall dress.



and my own overall dress garment, using some lovely woollen fabric I was given.

I love Vogue Italia, it presents fabulous fashion shoots. These are some images, that come from a 2008 edition, if not even earlier. They are still fascinating and connect beautifully with aprons.

It's such a delightful rural scene. The fashion models posed as if at work, like pioneers, or Amish women working the land.
This pattern could help with providing this look.





The apron style on the right reminds me of my apron style waistcoat.


The photographer for the first shoot, 'Country Style', is American fashion photographer, Steven Meisel. He did a lot of work for Italian Vogue. He also did the photography work for Madonna's notorious 1992 book 'Sex'. I bet there are no images of Madonna wearing an apron!
A Jigsaw collection featuring cool apron-type over layer look. A look I have always liked.

This Vogue Issey Miyake pattern demonstrates a very stylish apron-style dress. It's timeless.

I whipped it up, once again, in some wonderful fabric, which was given to me. It's a great dress to wear and could be about the third version I have created. As I say, timeless.

I have just finished reading 'Pride and Prejudice' (for the first time!). What a wonderful read, why did I leave it so long?!?
One of Austen's preoccupations, probably deriving from her own situation, was the unfair way the world treated unmarried women, and the dreadful prospect awaiting them if they had no private source of income.
I have been inspired to create a piece relating to Mary Bennet.The inspiration came from a lovely 'Regency Apron' pattern I was able to download off the net. Here is an example of such an apron, in this scene from the 1995 film 'Sense and Sensibility', which starred Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet.

Here is Mary Bennet from the BBC 1995 TV series.

Mary's portrayal in the Keira Knightley film

Various appearances of Mary over the years.

"Mary (Bennet) was the only daughter who remained at home, and she was necessarily drawn from the pursuit of accomplishments by Mrs Bennet's being quite unable to sit alone. Mary was obliged to mix more with the world, but she could still moralize over every morning visit and as she was no longer mortified by comparisons between her sister's beauty and her own, it was suspected by her father that she submitted to the change without much reluctance." (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)

My sartorial portrayal of Mary Bennet.

Want to read a fascinating 'Postfeminist' take on Mary Bennet...here's the link for you. The section relating to the various films or television series is worth reading. It reveals how the various writers of the screenplay chose to portray Mary compared to how Jane Austen actually wrote it.
http://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/volume-40-no-2/nelson/ 

What about a pretty cool "rant" for want of a better word, rant in the positive sense, about Mary Bennet and how she can connect with young women of today. The lovely young woman delivering the work has a delightful co-star, who kinda steals the show!

I love my home kitchen apron, it's an Issey Miyake APOC (A Piece of Cloth), even came with 2 table mats in the same APOC style.


Also fond of my workroom studio apron, sporting my personalised number plate, if I had one.

Comme des Garcons' Fall 2021/22 collection has finally been shown. RK's statement regard it "I need to take one breath in the monochrome serenity." It's an amazing frothy, puffy, black and white collection. There is something very Victorian London about it, and look,an apron!

SLTSLTBsigning off on aprons.

 






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