Real Women Wear Aprons

I was on my vacation this week, visiting my dad, and pumping him for WWII stories about his family.  My uncle was a pilot during in the Pacific. Memorial Day is special in our house because Uncle Billy Rhea did not make it home. 

But my visit also meant no cooking. What would I share with you all? With all Dad's stories, I spent my down time fantasizing about what it would be like to live during WWII. Would I be a Rosie the Riveter or would I be down on the farm, providing food for the war effort?  Not an easy choice. Women still had to do it all when it came to cooking, unless they lived in a boarding house!  

Put me on the farm! I have to cook the way my grandmothers did in the years leading up to WWII.  Pure and simple, due to my allergies. But it was messy cooking, what with frying chicken and making blackberry jam, chopping tomatoes and creaming corn for canning.Did I mention I am known for spilling things on myself?  My cooking and eating are not graceful ventures! Oh, the clothes I have stained. Got any good remedies for getting out chocolate and mustard? Put them in the comments.

How did my stylish relatives cope? Laundry meant back breaking work. They had to keep what clothes they had in good condition because there were fabric shortages and money still wasn’t flowing after the Depression. But they had a secret weapon: aprons, truly extraordinary aprons.  I know, because I inherited my great-aunt’s collection.  She created aprons with flair!   

These are some of my favorite inherited aprons. Every one is hand done with lots of details.

I may write WWII romance but I am not a total fan of the fashions of the day. Shoulder pads. Recycled suits due to fabric shortages. Cork, yes, and wood shoes. But, thanks to my great-aunt, I am an apron-obsessed woman. I now stalk thrift stores, ebay and Etsy for unique creations.  Aprons were one way women got to be creative with a small amount of fabric.  And my friend Mary Jo is a kindred spirit.  So we created a Real Women Wear Aprons board on Pinterest. Click here to see our board. 

Interesting sidelight: Our board has followers in their twenties and thirties due to the “New Domesticity” movement. Emily Matcher has spoken about it and written a book, Homeward Bound, about how younger women are doing things the old-fashioned way of their grandmothers. Their parents may have tossed aside the cookbooks or the knitting needles but these young women are picking them up in vast numbers. My daughter loves to bake and decorate. Others are crocheting or canning or raising chickens. All this interest has led to a resurgence in apron production and high prices on vintage aprons!  I am sitting on a goldmine!

I think it is wonderful others are learning what Mary Jo and I already know…Real Women Wear Aprons.  Even ones that aren't messy chefs and eaters like me! I imagine our grandmothers are having the last laugh.