Dreaming of Aprons

It's Day #1 of my prepping-for-Thanksgiving drill. Today I'm drawing up "to do" lists, setting the dining-room table, and knocking out some of the early, do-ahead cooking, like making cranberry sauce and corn bread for the stuffing.

I'm a messy--make that an enthusiastic--cook. When I'm in the kitchen, flour falls on the floor, sauces drip on the countertops, and invariably whatever I'm wearing gets smeared.

Enter the apron. Currently most of my aprons are the no-nonsense, chef's-type: a loop around the neck, ties that encircle the waist, and a single panel of fabric that falls roughly from collarbone to kneecaps.

My aprons are practical, rugged, and sort of blah. Except for one. A few years back, Daughter #2 gave me a wonderful chef's apron emblazoned with a photocopy of my pugs' faces. It's beyond adorable.

But Woman can't survive on one adorable apron alone. Not this Woman, anyway, who dons an apron six or seven days a week.

Lately I've been dreaming about cute aprons. Vintage aprons. Or those that look vintage. And of course, polka-dot aprons.

Oh, they're out there, folks. Here are some of my faves. Here's the "Victory Full Apron" from StitchthruTime:

Ya think the fact that I love this apron might have something to do with the seafoam-green storage cabinet and the vintage canisters on top? Yeahhhhh.

From AOL Shopping, I found these cuties made by Jessie Steele:



That black one with white piping SO has my name on it!

I found a number of outstanding aprons on Etsy, the online handmade goods consortium (If you haven't looked at Etsy, go now! I give you permission. It's a wonderland of great stuff.)

This apron is from Etsy provider "Boojiboo." What a great job she's done of styling the shot--check out that red mixer and vintage stove in the background:


This cutie has polka dots as accent fabric. This is Etsy contributor Dianne Designer Aprons. And I want to live in her house. That's a tantalizing glimpse of a little old white house across the street, and look at the turned-work balusters and column on her front porch:

Oh! Front-porch lust!

Okay, back to aprons. This one from Etsy's Leahashley gets my vote because a)It's mostly black, b)It has polka dots, and c)It has a clever, asymmetrical details:

Half-aprons aren't good for me (I always seem to be hugging a batter-drippy bowl to my chest at some point). But if I were in the market, Dapperduds offers this adorable and unusual apron on Etsy:
This one is from Pam Mariutto on Martha Stewart's website:

Eh! Such cuteness, I feel my resolve to stay away from half-aprons beginning to slip. LoverDoversClothing on Etsy, I hold you responsible!:


Enough apron drooling. It's back to the kitchen for me. Next up: baking cupcakes for one of my houseguests, who turns 20 on Friday!