Kristen Caven and I have a few things in common – we both love all things Art Deco and vintage. We are both alumnae of Mills College and members of the Art Deco Society of California.
Kristen is a cartoonist, illustrator (she created my fabulous ODFL logo), author, and she collects vintage aprons!
To me the autumn chill in the air brings to mind cooking and baking – soups, apple cake, pumpkin pie. When I’m in the kitchen I always wear an apron to protect my clothing, but also I’m always happy to put on something festive and fun. Kristen knows what I’m sayin’ and she kindly agreed to a Q&A with ODFL chatting all about vintage aprons.
When did you start collecting vintage aprons? What about them attracted you?
I fell in love with them in the 1990s when I began hanging out with a group of Art Deco collectors; they were so cheerful and easy to collect. I visited Powell’s Bookstore in Portland around that time and was utterly charmed by the way they decorated their café with vintage aprons hanging from clotheslines. I loved the variety—you know, no two are ever the same—and started collecting them to hang in my kitchen. I bought a few at vintage sales and once people saw how much I loved them, they started gifting me with garage sale finds. I loved the theatrical effect in my whimsical country kitchen, which is painted with clouds on deep blue walls, of a clothesline on a sunny day. But the sun really faded them and so now I keep them on hangers.
Another thing that attracts me to vintage aprons is they’re non-standard; each one is unique. So many of them are home-made. You don’t really see designer aprons; they are entirely mainstream and under the radar because they symbolize women’s traditional role as keeper of a home.
How many in your collection today?
I’ve got about fifteen or twenty, I suppose. I have them grouped on clip hangers, mostly by color: pinks and reds, blacks and whites. There’s one hanger of holiday aprons and one of aprons made with international fabrics.
Where do you find them?
Mostly, they find me! Once you start collecting things, they seem to come to you. Someone even made me a few! But I’ve found a few in antique stores, and you can get them on Etsy. The most recent one I bought was made from Kente Cloth; I got it of all places at Oaktoberfest, but that’s Oakland for you! I never go out shopping for them but when one catches my eye and it’s just right for me, I can’t resist.
Please tell us about one your favorites.
Oh I have so many! I have a favorite for 4th of July and another that’s got red polka dots and a gauzy yellow one that’s clearly for wearing over formal dress. There’s one with a cartoon on it though, that says, “Them that Works Eats!” At first I thought it was funny, like for moms of five or more kids, but then I realized it’s an anti-welfare political artifact from the New Deal Era!
Do you ever incorporate one into an outfit you wear outside of the kitchen? (I do this in the summer with some white cotton aprons I have.)
Honestly, I actually only have one “workhorse” apron that I wear in the kitchen (unless there’s a feast, in which case I pull out aprons for ALL the cooks to wear.) The rest are all for show! For a year after the takeover (referring to the “merger” of Mills College with Northeastern University in 2022), I hosted a monthly tea at Mills College called “CommuniTEA,” where all of the volunteers wore vintage aprons from my collection—and at the end of year ceremony, we wore them all as capes, ha ha! You can see me in lots of aprons both in my Vintage Cookbook lecture and in my nutrition class, Fiberlicious. And of course, every October I’m wearing one with my Dirndl!
What advice would you give to someone who also loves vintage aprons and wants to start collecting?
There are so many ways to collect! The whole concept of aprons is vintage, so you don’t have to stick to historic guidelines unless you’re really interested in certain looks or fashions. There are very few apron trends, so you can collect by detail: ruffles, pompoms and other schmuck; Art Deco designs or patterns; appliqués. You can collect useless fashion aprons like the ones French Maids wear—or you can collect your own family heirlooms. You can look for whimsy, as I tend to do, or quality. There are a lot of unworn, unstained aprons around because it’s impractical to wear an apron that’s nicer than the dress it’s supposedly protecting. My collection has both half and full aprons, some straight from vintage magazines, some from other countries, some very cute remakes. All aprons are pretty, even the “blah” ones. I pass so many by, and only collect the ones that speak to me, or that I’ve been dreaming of. I mean I really don’t NEED any more! Another great thing to find is apron patterns. They’re easy to make and so charming!
Also, it’s really wonderful to think of what aprons signify. They’re kitschy and sentimental, or political symbols of gender slavery. There are some really saccharine poems about them going around the internet that make you appreciate a life of kitchen service, family service. To me, the apron is an abstract, vestigial garment that gives a nod to the sentiment of nurturing. It’s something that’s cute for cute’s sake.
I agree that there’s a lot of symbolism woven into the humble apron; it’s worth a pause to think about it. Thank you, Kristen for chatting with ODFL.
In addition to Kristen’s current projects mentioned above, she has also produced an animated film called Dirndl Diaspora and published a fun book called The Souls of Her Feet: A Fairytale Reality Project.
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