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Who could ever imagine that the very aprons we use in the kitchen have existed long before our grandmother or even great grandmothers do. And to put some more surprises, these little over-garments were actually have served one purpose for over a thousand years and that it was actually a protective garment for all occasions – to cover the clothes from stains. Why would they use it for almost all occasions? Well, the reason behind this rests upon as to why aprons were really made.

If you are quite aware of the dresses during the 15th century, you would notice that women back then wears long dresses and often composed of different apparels. The different apparels have their own names and serve their own purposes. Meaning, one dress of a woman before may consist of several other smaller apparels like a pinafore, or a girdle, an underpants, etc. Also during the time, technology is not yet fully introduced and therefore textiles before were not as strong as what we have today thus making it vulnerable to tearing through regular laundry. It was also during that period that clothes and dresses were not as abundant and affordable as today that is why protective garments like those cheap aprons must be incorporated on the women’s dresses.

Several years later, aprons remaining to be cheap as during the time they were introduced to public, still play a vital role in society. This time it is no longer just a protective garment but rather a decorative one. In other uses, aprons have become a uniform that can determine a soldier from one another and as an indicator of rank and military position. This particular use of aprons is proven by the use of musketeers, knights, and other soldiers during the 16th and 17th century. During this time the cheap aprons were famously attributed to as tabards. More years later, tabards have been decorated with diamonds, crystals and other precious metals to signify rank of an officer or its relationship to the reigning royal. Until now, there are still knights who don tabards during official and special events in Great Britain. Tabard is also the term used by Anglican’s for a particular garment their bishops wore over their cassock and other catholic bishops and priest then were pictured to have worn a garment which has a little of resemblance to a tabard. In today’s use, the tabard is an apron that has a hole for a head and rests on the shoulder of the user with small strings for adjustment on both sides. Tabard is now colloquially known best as the cobbler apron.

These seem to be less important and cheap aprons have even found its way to the use of many great leaders who were member of the Masonic brotherhood. When you search in Google about Washington’s apron, you will be amazed to see a decorated piece of small square blue and white cloth. This cloth is known as the Masonic apron. Further your research and you will found out that Winston Churchill owned one too ordered in 1902 but fully paid only in 1904.

Today, these cheap aprons remain as cheap as they were before, serving the same purpose, but are no longer used for military purposes or religious decorations. These aprons now frequent restaurants, hotels, slaughterhouses, machine shops, and our kitchens.

This is how aprons take part in our society through the years. Beginning as a mere clothing protection, leaping to heights to level of the royals, even joining the sacredness of the cassocks, then ending as the most important piece of cloth in our kitchens and a critical part of the food industry and hotel management.