Aprons...the modern cooks cape!

A cook without an apron is like Superman without his cape!  When I step into the kitchen and dawn my apron...my inner cook is unleashed and food magic happens! 

 I know aprons are not a necessary tool in the kitchen, like a pot or pan.  But I do believe that they are one of those fun gadgets, like a lemon zester or melon baller, that liven things up!

Aprons go back to forever ago...literally.  I read once that Adam and Eve's fig leaf attire was technically the first "apron"...and maybe so.

Today's aprons are not your mom's frumpy plaid get-up.  There are sassy, chic, handmade, dressy, plain, funny, retro, and even vintage ones.  It's like grown-up dress-up!  I can be lounging in my sweats, hair in a ponytail, and no make-up...but when I put on my v-neck purple and zebra stripe "dress" apron, SUDDENLY I feel like I am dressed for a night on the town in some big city, dining at a 4-star restaurant with a 6 month waiting list, sipping on expensive wine and eating French food that  I cannot pronounce...when I am interrupted with "mom what's for dinner?" Reality hits me and I once again go back to cooking dinner for 6.  But for a moment I was there!

We lived far from my grandparents and I don't have any memories of them wearing their aprons like old ladies were supposed to do, but sometimes I pretend they did.  It's part of my "normal family" fantasy.   My mom doesn't wear an apron either.  But she LOVES to do laundry.  I think that hunting and searching for ALL of those little grease splatters on her shirts is a game for her.  Maybe it's therapeutic.  For me...not so much!  Laundry ranks #2 right under dishes

Aprons are like bacon grease...very practical! 
They obviously have covered women's clothing for centuries
But they are so much more than that...
They are pot holder in a pinch, a towel for dirty hands, a makeshift bucket to carry food or trash (but not trash then food cause, well, that's just gross).  They wipe kids tears, or clean dirty little faces.  You would simply be amazed at how much an old apron can dust in a matter of seconds upon the arrival of unexpected company!  They are a rite of passage in some homes. 

So many occupations are recognized by a uniform...this is the "at home cook" uniform.  The symbol that states..."I have done 40 bazillion things today and I STILL made dinner"  "I am cook, hear me sizzle!" 

Aprons and bras were abandoned back in the "women's lib." days.  And though I was not around then, I am eternally grateful that Aprons have made a come back...but I am so much happier that it's okay to wear a bra!  There are those out there that missed that memo...to them I say..."The girls don't have to be free for you to be!" 

We have come a long way since "the movement" and even longer since the picturesque housewife days of the 50's.  But somethings never change..like hungry husbands and kids.  So my suggestion to you is TRY ONE!  You never know...you might feel a little prettier, or a little more creative.  You may have super powers you never knew before you owned a "cape," AND your husband might even think it's sexy!!!