Let's Talk About Aprons

I wonder if Ree thepioneerwoman wears these pretty aprons when she's creating those great recipes for us!

Below you'll see left to right my first cousin Ileen, Aunt Laura Mobley, Eulita Mobley and Rachel Lee Mobley our Grandmother.  Aunt Laura is Ileen and Eulita's Mother. Note the aprons ..this is about as fancy as I recall their aprons being. This was either a family gathering [They did the cooking] or Tobacco harvesting day [they did the cooking for everyone]

I cannot say for sure about Aunt Laura or Ileen
but I am fairly confident that Grandma's aprons
were IRONED...maybe even STARCHED.

These first two apron patterns are showing really fancy styles-from my recall I just don't think we often saw our grandmas,mothers and aunts wearing such fancy style aprons-perhaps if your station in life called for hostessing/entertaining guests for special gatherings?  They definitely were not apron styles worn out in the garden to gather the

vegetables

[above] I remember this style apron being worn by a  women in my life.  Oftentimes Grandma Mobley's apron [this style] would be without any colored trim or patterned fabric..that was often determined by what kind of feedsacks she ended up with.  The prettier patterns or colors were often 'saved" for some special sewing project..like a child's Easter Dress.

One of our Grandchildren might ask at this point: Why would you wear one of these aprons? What were they used for? Some of the list of uses I have heard are: Drying the hands, carrying vegetables from the garden, keeping her dress clean while working in the kitchen or housecleaning, wiping perspiration from the face, wiping the runny nose of a small child, waving it to get the attention of her husband working out in the field-perhaps to let him know "dinner's ready." I imagine there are more you can think of-would you share with us?