THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH
by Gertrude Lefferts Vanderbilt
1887
APRONS
About the close of the last century, fancy aprons were not considered out
of place even in full dress, although it is not probable that they were worn
at balls and parties.
We find a newspaper bearing date April 1773, an advertisement in which
there is a great variety of these offered for sale:
spotted and figured Scots lawn...........................aprons
spotted and figured silk.................................aprons
plain and flowered, figured and spotted, black gauze.....aprons
figured and flowered black and white silk................aprons
needle-worked lawn.......................................aprons
[lawn: a thin or sheer linen or cotton fabric, either plain or printed]
Fancy aprons, more or less trimmed,were worn by young ladies, and formed
a very pretty addition to their afternoon dress. Until within some ten or
fifteen years they were not considered inconsistent even with a silk dress.
At present they are only worn by children, or, if used by ladies, only to
serve the temporary purpose of neatness, and not an ornamental part of their
general costume.
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