How well do you know about aprons? Probably, you are already familiar with its primary usage but not with its history. Do you know that before an apron becomes part of the daily outfit of women, Adam and Eve used to wear an apron? Yes, they make aprons out of fig leaves to cover their private parts. And this passage can be found in the book of Genesis (chapter 3, verse 7). Aside from that, it is also said that before women use aprons, men who are into blacksmithing wore aprons in a form of tabard. The said garment only became popular to females when it was accompanied in the everyday outfit of European women during the medieval period.

For centuries, both men and women have been using aprons. And since people have been using them for hundreds of years, they have been available in a variety of styles. Basically, there are three styles of aprons. These include the waist aprons, bib aprons, and cobbler aprons. The waist aprons are said to be the simplest style of apron. It is as simple as a piece of 2-yards cloth provided with drawstrings on both sides that will be used to tie around the waist of the wearer. The bib apron on the other hand is styled to provide additional protection to the upper body. Just like the baby’s bib, this apron is comes with a strap in around the neck. Sometimes it appears as shoulder straps that criss-cross in the back and attach to the waistband, making it more comfortable to wear. Meanwhile, a cobbler apron is styled to cover both the front and back portion of the wearer’s clothing. The style of this apron is obtained from tabard, an outer garment in a tunic form (usually sleeveless).

But along with the innovations made in technology, styles of aprons are better improved and named depending on the type of person who wears the said utilitarian garment. Just like the bistro and the dealer aprons. They could have been part of the waist apron in terms of style. The only thing that makes them differ from typical waist aprons is that bistro apron falls below the knees while dealer aprons are cut above the knees. And since bistro aprons are commonly used by bartenders or baristas, they became more popular as bistro aprons. Same with dealer aprons, this functional outer clothing became part of the everyday uniform of staffs in up market establishments that’s why they are called that way.