THE RETURN OF THE APRON.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2610, 18 September 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE RETURN OF THE APRON.

(“Sydney Morning Herald.”)

Most of us remember the filmy bit" of dainty lace appliqued to some paletinted silk worn by our mothers some twenty .years ago, and called an apron. It required a more than vivid imagination to find any use for it beyond that of prettiness. Years before our grandmothers wore those made of blacx silk/ moire antique, and gros grain, and their beauty depended on the trimming, that consisted chiefly of rosettes nnd buttons. Those aprons had fantastic names, such as Lena, Gloria, Diana and St’atia. The Lena was the largest, and was square-shaped, trimmed with rows of graduated black velvet. .The Diana was gored with a hand of silk four inches wide, cut on the bias. The Statia was embroidered with jet beads, and had a belt fastened with a jet buckle; and the Gloria was shell-shap-ed, with a border of tiny silk shells pinked out, and a rosette finished each shell. It is easily seen that our grandmothers’ aprons were much larger than our mothers’. Everyone was supposed to look fascinating in an apron, and young girls, as well as matrons, affected them. But there was also the apron of utility, of spotless white linen, with strings, that was donned when my lady made her iam preserves, cowslip, gooseberry, raspberry wines, and her perfumes. In those days these duties were never i - elegated to domestics, and everything home-made was prized. There was also the white-tucked apron, finished with crochet of the homely housewife, who, when her arduous duties were ended, put it on to be ready to receive any of her friends who might “drop in.” It was almost a sign of rest for her. Nearly everyone has seen the old Scotch apron, with its sets of pockets for needlework; indeed, they were far more useful than any workbox or workbasket, for they were a kind of miniature haberdashery department, a “multum in parvo,” containing everything one needed, and a, pocket in which to place the work when one had finished. But the aproh vanished, and became the badge of the domestics, later to be taken up by the artist, the wood-carver, the metal and the enamelworker, and then a fashion set in to possess quaint and uncommon ones. Some were sought for in Paris, others were picked up in Norway, decorated with red arid blue embroidery. The German one was all cross-stitched, and much 'favored! but that considered the best was the gorgeous one of the Roman peasant, so beautifully worked and with such glorious coloring. Some cynic says that “a woman who dons an apron never reads Frenchy novels nor wears sausages on her head.” Be that as it may, the apron has arrived once more, both in its useful form and in its dainty style.

There is a swing of the pendulum, and women are taxing to homely pursuits again. So many millionaires harve made life too luxurious, and some grande -dames are adopting simplicity in all things. Nowadays gentlewomen are pleased to offer some dainty cake dr sweet made by themselves at their “at homes.” They arrange their flowers, and perhaps, gardens, too; dust their old china, and clean their treasured lace. And even noblewomen show themselves at several functions in the same dress. So the simple, happy life is “coming in.” The apron was said to be one of the foundations of home-making. It usually belonged to the bright, cheery and helpful being, who was happy and contented, . and wished to mqke others as happy as herself, and no doubt our new one is a fashion in itself. The useful kind is expansive, goirg right round the dress, with a large pocket and four straps to hold a pair of scissors, a hammer, twine and a bunch, of assorted nails; while the drawing-room one is a confeotion of fine lace, delicate embroidery, and silk of that old-world color, lavender—and it has two pockets, one for the mouchoir, and another, much, smaller, for a scented sachet. Probably the old lace fichu will be worn with this dainty fancy.