Aprons are one of those gifts that become more and more special with each use. Just like pages of a cookbook that are stained with cake batter, the more wear and tear an apron gets, the more you know it has done its job and the more memories it holds. For us cooks, each little stain created in between washes is like a tiny badge of honor!
These aprons by Taylor Linens are The Cottage Journal’s very first product! And we are so excited by all of the wonderful comments we have heard about them already. Each apron is 100% machine washable, ties in the back, and has an adjustable neck strap. Sounds like the perfect Mother’s Day gift to me!
Taylor Linens combines the breezy culture of Southern California with the simple charm of home in their designs. Their soft products reflect a cozy aesthetic and an array of pastel colors. These aprons are available in three patterns—Charleston Aqua, The Lucy, and The Sarah (my favorite). See, even the names are intriguing! The Charleston Aqua is covered in a cheery geometric print, raspberry-red flowers blend into a creamy background on sweetly romantic Sarah, and raspberry-and-yellow blooms span across a pretty pale blue-green shade on Lucy!
From left to right: The Charleston Aqua, The Lucy, and The Sarah.
Comments 9
Mrs. Bihr, she was the epitome of home economics at Shades Valley, back in the day! She is the reason I became a home economics teacher. And yes, all my students made their own aprons and wore them in the food labs!
My mom is gone now, but when I think of her I picture her wearing an apron. Not a day went by that I didn’t see my mom in an apron. She lived to be 88 and if she was in the house she had one on. My mom was not old and decrepit she was extremely active. She didn’t even really cook all that much but she did bake quite a lot. She wore them over her best clothes on the holidays and her everyday clothes and even her flannel nightgowns (which is also a massive collection she had). She wore them from the time she got up until she went to bed. My mom had tons of aprons from the 1940s and 1950’s. She got married in 1948 and when she had her first kid, my brother, her mother in law bought her 3 very pretty ones. I like to call them “Blondie aprons” since they were the type that Blondie in the movies wore. They went over your head and tied in the back and had huge ruffles all around the part going around your neck.
Later when I was in high school, I was walking to the bus one morning and as I passed an ally way I heard a small whimpering. I kept walking, I lived in a dangerous neighborhood in Chicago and you just never knew who or what you might encounter in the ally’s. But I stopped, something told me to go back and have a look. There in a cardboard box was 8 little German Shepherd puppies! So adorable and scared and hungry they were so young their eyes were not even open yet. No mom in sight. I only lived about a block away so I ran back home and got my mom. We went to the ally and you won’t believe what she did! She scooped all 8 of those fur babies into her apron like as if they were peaches and carried them all home! We kept them and raised them and trained them and she sold them. Over the years she acquired more aprons of course including one my husband brought back from Guatemala on a trip to visit his ailing father. She always had a kleenix handy in the pocket of her aprons and more often than not, money that she didn’t want my dad to know about. Usually because she was giving it to me for my birthday about 200 hundred dollars and that was besides my gift. That may sound strange to you, the reader, but she had good reason to do it and no, he didn’t drink or gamble. Or maybe she had something to show me that she didn’t want him to see, like some piece of jewelry she bought.
Now they are both gone and every time I see one I am reminded of her. How I have Christmas pictures with the family around the table. And there she was with her very best dress on and the apron over it. And many, many years later after my dad had died I remember her sitting at the kitchen table eating her dinner with only a slip on and her apron over it. It was like 95 degrees out and she was going ballroom dancing with her boyfriend. She was about 83 at that time. I remember her going someplace and forgetting to take her apron off before she left the house. My mom was a total hoot and just a little eccentric (she used to say it was the English in her) all I know is, I loved her soooooooo much and miss her terribly!
I love aprons and I have made so many. My first apron I sewed was taught to me by my Grandmother and made from flour sack material. My Mom gave me an Aunt Jemnia apron when I was 4 years old that she received from Aunt Jemnia flour and I still have it. I have made many, many aprons and my love to sew them and give them to friends and family make me so happy.
Thank you for writing about aprons, it is so special.
I love aprons! I don’t wear them as much as I should but every time I do it takes me back to my high school years in home economics. Mrs. Bihr, always made sure we had ours on!
Those are so pretty!
Aprons, towels, and table linens are some of my favorite things to collect. ( I love anything textile related. )
I am afraid of staining them, though, so I end up “saving” the pretty ones and I tend to wear the “not so pretty” ones. This is inspiring me to get the pretty ones out and use them!
I love aprons and have quite a few for different occasions and different times of the year. Some are new and fun, some belonged to my mom and grandmother and I feel close to theme when I wear their aprons. I also still have a few small ones from my childhood…they are homemade and very sweet and like pieces of artwork. My husband has his own apron from an event he attended with the famous chef Jacques Pepin, which now serves as great memory and when my son hosted and cooked his first , very ambitious meal for friends, I bought him an apron for him to use to mark this very special milestone.
Aprons are not only practical but they are truly the fabric of our lives!
Phyllis I love aprons and always wear one when I cook. This may sound silly, but I feel empowered when I wear an apron. They are romantic, have lots of memories attached to them if they’re handed down, pick up spills and the pockets always come in handy. I like my apron so much I often forget to take it off once I sit down to dinner. I have an apron for the holidays, aprons for heavy duty chores and aprons that are frilly and just look pretty and feminine. I give them as gifts to my friends, young women and have also gifted my mom with aprons that I brought back from Italy.
The aprons are lovely. I have several aprons that belonged to my sister. Before her death ten years ago, she worked in the food service industry & made her own aprons for each season. Every time I wear one, it reminds me of her & her love of cooking & serving others.
Each one is a sweet treasure. That’s what I love about aprons, they are more than just protection. They carry with them the memories of good times, our grandmothers, moms, sisters and friends. Never enough aprons!