Artistic and Functional: Aprons From The Karen Anderson Collection.

The Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University is showing 47 of the 500 aprons held by the Karen Anderson Collection. Anderson, now deceased, was known as the "Apron Lady" of Lynn Center, Illinois.

According to Lynnmarie's Everyday Connection, Anderson collected and mended the aprons over many years. She wrote stories about each piece or carried on the stories of the aprons donated to her collection.

I find vintage aprons so interesting. Whenever I see them in thrift stores, I snap them up and I feel like I've scored. As if I'm holding someone's life in my hands. I think for feminists of the 1960's and 1970's aprons have become a symbol of women's oppression (see the forged metal apron by artist Elizabeth Brim) but the aprons I find are often as delicate as butterfly wings. Gauzy handkerchief cotton edged with lace, as the apron above, and entirely useless as a form of protection. These were probably the aprons kept in the drawer, too precious for everyday use. That a woman would have aprons for work and aprons for show is a blog topic all by itself.

Many of the craft bloggers around my age are inspired by vintage aprons and sew them from vintage or vintage-inspired patterns. Check out the Apronista! This is amazing work and inspires sewists everywhere. With no mention of the conflict between the last generation of women, probably their mothers, who couldn't wait to cut the strings.

I've  heard it said that, by blogging, these women are writing "into the wind", but this generation of stay-at-home-moms are different anyway. They've all got wildly successful websites that sell a bird's eye view of their lives as well as custom patterns, books, and self-designed fabric collections. (Not a bad deal. I own a consulting company and have no children and though my blog is, in my opinion, quite interesting as long as you've got an open mind - no one is banging down my door to publish a picture book of what I do all day.)

I'm not sure what to make of it either way, but it seems that aprons are somehow illustrative of the difference between two specific generations of women. What do you think? About aprons? About blogging "into the wind"?

Comments

[William W. Overbey]

The play of aprons is endlessly fascinating. Aprons are varied manifestations, junctions of utility and role, protection and decoration. Just as aprons came to symbolize gender repression, so they also once marked tradespeople and laborers who needed to protect precious clothing. Note that masons and clerics came to valorize their aprons elevating aprons to costume -- accepting one's role by embellishing to levels beyond simple utility. The utility of the apron involved identity.