Five reasons why you should wear an apron

Iconic TV moms Lucille Ball, Donna Reed and Barbara Billingsley in their aprons

The other day, a Facebook friend, author Cecelia Dowdy, asked this question: "Ladies, do you ever wear an apron?"

Her replies were many and varied.  Some said yes, some said sometimes, others were all-out apron fans who wear them regularly in the kitchen.  Some said they wear aprons that used to be their grandmother's or another family member's.

Do we need an apron?

The reality is, maybe we don't need aprons as much as our 50's forebears did.  They were constantly in the kitchen.  They baked regularly and cooked three meals a day.  Few of them worked outside the home, but their work inside the home never ended.

Plus, they dressed up on a daily basis.  Shirtwaist dresses, and in June Cleaver's case, pearls! Those nice clothes needed protection from kitchen splatters and spills.

Why I wear an apron

I remember my mom gave me one of her aprons when I got married.  Sadly, in the course of several moves, I lost it...which makes me doubly sad, since she passed away a year ago.

But not long ago, when I ruined a top for the umpteenth time because of the bleach cleanser I spritz often in my kitchen, I decided that was it.  If I was going to be doing any time-consuming cooking or baking, I would wear an apron.

So far, I only have one.

I got this apron on clearance at TJ Maxx for a little over 8 dollars

But I'm definitely in the market for more.

Oh, and I don't mean to be sexist with this.  Many men, and all professional chefs, wear aprons while cooking.  They just may not be as cute as the aprons made for women.

With the advent of Etsy, Pinterest et al, beautiful aprons are available everywhere.  And the aforementioned TJ Maxx and Marshall's usually have a selection for less than 20 dollars.

Susannah's Kitchen

One of my favorite apron websites is Susannah's Kitchen, named after Susannah Wesley, the mother of John Wesley and Charles Wesley and a host of other children she raised admirably and beautiful.

One of the adorable aprons sold through Susannah's Kitchen

Here are 5 good reasons you might want to consider wearing an apron:

• To protect your clothes from stains...even if you're dressed casually you don't want to mess up your clothes, and if you're hosting, the apron will protect your fancy clothes
• So you won't get flour all over your clothes when you bake
• To protect your clothes from glue and glitter while crafting
• To take advantage of the nifty pockets most aprons have
• Last, but not least:  When you wear a pretty apron, YOU feel pretty.  There's something about donning an apron that says,"I'm the queen of my house.  Yes, this is work, but I can still feel cute while doing it!"

How cute are these mother-daughter Christmas aprons from Infashionkids.com?

This elf-themed apron from Sylvester Mouse is just too adorable

Do you wear an apron, or would you consider it?  Why or why not?  Let me know in my comments section!