Aprons

One of my dear aunt Margie’s favorite colors was pink, and she “simply pinked” almost everything around her. As a child I loved this, for she had a pink kitchen countertop, a pink bathroom, and a pink chenille bedspread! She also had several pink aprons for various cooking or baking situations. For everyday cooking she wore her simple flour sack aprons, but because she was a master seamstress she made even the most benign clothes adorable. Her daily home-keeping aprons were also decorated with pinkness—buttons, rickrack, and bows. Some even had bells attached, for fun.

Her hostess aprons were mostly pink, but she did add other colors for contrast. They were made with organza, tulle, or felt and adorned with big bows and sequins. These were to be worn for company only, although she did let my twin sister and me play dress-up with them when we came to visit. She even had children’s aprons in plenty of pink and blue, just our size. It was always so much fun to cook and bake with her when we wore our special little aprons!

As I write these memories of my aunt, I realize why aprons are so special. Of course, their primary purpose is to prevent clothes from being soiled, but they have much greater meaning than that. Aprons bond cooking and fashion into one lovely piece of clothing. When you don a darling apron, you are intentionally celebrating the love and tradition of cooking and baking. And best of all, you will look absolutely lovely making a meat loaf and/or throwing a pie in the oven for your family and friends.

Eat pie, love life.