Deborah Reinhardt has fond memories of her mother and grandmother cooking in aprons dusted with flour or other signs of that day’s meal. And then there were the special occasions. “Grandma, especially, wore the fancier ones with ruffles and silky fabric for serving dinner,” says Reinhardt, who lives in St.
Louis and runs a food blog called She regretted that she hadn’t saved any of those family heirlooms, but then her daughter gave her a special gift one Mother’s Day: a frilly apron. “Whenever I use it, memories of Mom and Bubba come alive. It’s almost like putting on a superhero’s cape; I feel like I can tackle anything in the kitchen,” Reinhardt says.
Aprons carry all kinds of associations. Professional cooks and contestants on wear large, utilitarian ones: might have the goofy “BBQ Dad” variety. They go especially well with Thanksgiving, evoking memories and .
There’s something empowering about cooking with an apron on; it says you are Creating a Meal. EllynAnne Geisel, a self-described “apron archaeologist,” likens these pieces of cloth to “domestic armor.” “Aprons don’t hold us back — they take us back,” she writes in “The Apron Book: Making, Wearing, and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort.
” And she notes that aprons are worn by a range of professionals, from cooks and bakers to fishmongers, welders and carpenters. A look at some current apron styles: As seen on ‘The Bear,’ ‘Top Chef’ and other shows Katie Brown, a writ.