My mom mailed me a few of her vintage aprons from my grandmother and great grandmother’s collections. I love them. They remind me of cooking thanksgiving dinner (about the only time I wore an apron growing up). Now I am a mom, and I am finding a lot of use for aprons again. I did a little digging and found some other creative ideas too.
10 Vintage Apron Ideas
Apron as Pot Holder
1. Pot holder. Keep one tied around your waist while cooking or tied to the oven handle/fridge handle/cabinet knob /wall hook /etc. for quick and easy access to a pot holder or kitchen towel. Since it is tied, toddlers can’t pull it down and run off with it. Mine does with my dish towels.
Apron as Bag
2. Carry things. I use mine while gardening to gather and carry in fresh fruits and veggies. It also works indoors to gather up toys and runaway socks quite nicely.
Protection from Beauty Products
3. Makeup protection. I am a messy makeup applier. I often need to put my vintage dresses on before doing my hair and makeup to avoid makeup smudge around the neckline. Wearing a high neck apron will protect your dress very well. An apron smock with sleeves will be even better.
Bibs for Kids
4. Bibs. Corn on the cob, crab boil, spaghetti, or soup. These are just a few of the foods I can’t seem to get in my mouth without splattering it all over my shirt. Enter the apron bib! It is a great place to wipe my hands when I’m done, too. Half-aprons work well as a bib for the little one. Larger aprons can cover the ground under high chairs, making food spillage cleanup much faster.
Apron with Pockets as an Emergency Bag
5. Emergency clothing. Its early in the morning and the doorbell rings. PJs still on and no time to change? Throw on a clean apron and the delivery man wouldn’t even know you are not dressed (other than your bed head.)
It also a nice idea to keep one by your bedside with your cell phone (fully charged), glasses, slippers and list of emergency contacts in the pocket. In case of a real emergency you can grab your apron and run outside and be able to call for help in one quick swoop.
Half Aprons for Curtains
6. Decorate. Hang half aprons on curtain rods, clothes pinned to wire, or tacked to your wall artfully is one way to show off your vintage apron collection. Place them over side tables to act as linens or along the back of the couch instead of using a blanket (cat hair clean up just got easier). I have also seen people tie them to the backs of chairs like a chair cover. For my next retro house party, you know I will be doing this!
Smock Apron for the Art Teacher in You
Crafty- Make an apron out of terry cloth or old towels for drying wiggly babies and puppies.
7. Get crafty. Aprons come in handy for holding pins and trim while sewing you latest creation. They also work well holding extra art supplies while your kids get crafty. My kindergarten art teacher always wore an apron smock. Since everything I ever really needed to know I learned in Kindergarten, I am betting an apron smock is a wise thing to wear. If you want to do something crafty with your aprons, sew two half aprons together and make a reusable bag.
Gloves for Smelly Jobs
8. & 9. Drying tears & preventing smells. Cutting onions for dinner makes me cry. A fresh apron does a nice job of drying my tears as I chop. My husband also likes to wear rubber gloves too prevent the onion from lingering on his skin. Great idea for chopping garlic, too, although a little vampire protection is never a bad thing.
Aprons Are Sexy
10. Romance incentive. Send the kids to the in-laws and cook your husband dinner wearing a pretty vintage apron…. and only an apron. Needless to say you probably won’t be eating dinner anytime soon, so be careful not to cook something that will burn while you are occupied.
Shop vintage style aprons for all your uses here
Debbie Sessions has been teaching fashion history and helping people dress for vintage themed events since 2009. She has turned a hobby into VintageDancer.com with hundreds of well researched articles and hand picked links to vintage inspired clothing online. She aims to make dressing accurately (or not) an affordable option for all. Oh, and she dances too.
