Vintage Aprons for Women

As America embraces its cooking muse via Food Network and other cooking venues vintage aprons for women are becoming almost a fashion must have. Retro styled aprons are eagerly purchased but some women like to go a bit further and hunt for the real thing.

A vintage apron has a certain style. The fabrics are unique and the patterns are often complex with ruffles, shaped pockets, and special trims. Some of these patterns and fabrics are no longer available so a vintage apron can give you a look that no reproduction apron can. Who knows? Maybe the vintage apron was worn by some amazing country cook and will imbue you with special mad cooking skills!

It may take time to find just the right apron, or a collection of vintage aprons for each day of the week and maybe holidays as well. Maybe you only want a few or perhaps you will pick one up every time you see one and have an entire apron wardrobe. However many you end up with you will want to keep these tips in mind.

Taking care of a vintage apron is not too difficult but you won't want to throw it in the washing machine or dryer without some care.  Wash it on gentle cycle or by hand with a gentle laundry soap. Hang to dry away from direct sunlight if possible. If there is a stain on it you might want to rub it with a little lemon juice and place it in the sun just the once, however.

If you are going to be cooking with ingredients that tend to stain badly they do think about using another apron. Chocolate, tomato, plum, and oil can be especially difficult to remove.

Many vintage fabrics need a quick going over with an iron to keep them looking their best. Use the iron on as cool a setting as you can and just touch up.

Keep your clean, dry aprons folded in a drawer with just aprons in it.

You can often find vintage aprons at local thrift shops, garage sales, and antique shops but for the best selection and ease of finding them you can't beat the Internet.

eBay – is probably one of the best places to find aprons. There is a usually a huge selection to choose from.

Alana's Vintage Collectibles – has a nice selection of aprons, both half aprons and full aprons.

Rusty Zipper Vintage Clothing – carries numerous aprons, mostly from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

Ballyhoo Vintage Clothing – has aprons from many decades. Best of all their clothing is sorted by decade to make it easier to find what you are looking for.

Cost of Collecting Vintage Women's Aprons

The cost of a vintage apron varies. Some aprons, especially those found at garage sales and thrift shops, may be priced at a few dollars while others found at specialty vintage clothing shops will command prices up to $50.00 and more.

Keep in mind that the price is based on what the public will pay and it won't hurt to ask for a seller to lower a price on an item that you love. You should expect to pay more for older aprons, those in pristine condition, and aprons that are unique in some way.

New Vintage

You can always buy new aprons that are made to look vintage. Those by Jessica Steele are a good example of new aprons that use vintage patterns and retro look fabrics to look older. If you want an apron you should buy and wear it proudly!