Editing Apron (section)

==Protective and fashionable aprons throughout history==
Since fabric was precious in the medieval and Renaissance eras, aprons then were little more than scraps of material tied around the waist with the intent of protecting the valuable clothing underneath.<ref name="The Aprons.com" />

[[File:Photograph of a man with a leather apron.jpg|thumb|Bib apron with split leg detail]]
In Europe during the Middle Ages, aprons were worn by blacksmiths, armor and weapon makers, gardeners, carvers, furniture makers, leather smiths, cobblers, tailors, jewelers, metal forgers, fishmongers, clock makers, homemakers, tradesmen, artisans and masons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.betterbaking.com/viewArticle.php?article_id=84|title=BetterBaking.com – A History of Aprons and Apron String Cuisine|website=www.betterbaking.com|access-date=20 January 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223064131/http://www.betterbaking.com/viewArticle.php?article_id=84|archive-date=23 December 2016}}</ref> Tradesmen in general were called "apron men," as aprons were so common that distinguishing styles emerged between the various trades. For example, English barbers were known as "checkered apron men."<ref name="Love to know">{{cite web|url=http://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/clothing-types-styles/aprons|title=Aprons – LoveToKnow|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911122104/http://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/clothing-types-styles/aprons|archive-date=11 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Cobblers wore black to protect garments from the black wax used on shoes. Butchers wore blue stripes. Butlers wore green aprons. Blue was commonly worn by weavers, spinners, and gardeners. Stonemasons wore white aprons as protection against the dust of their trade, and even in the twenty-first century, aprons survive as part of Masonic ceremonial attire. These aprons were long, coming down to below the knees, with a flap or bib to protect the chest. The Union of the Grand Lodge of England between the Ancient and Modern branches of English Freemasonry in 1813 brought into many effect many changes in dress and ritual which still prevail to this day. In respect to the Masonic apron it was felt necessary to have these standardised and the resulting effort are the aprons we have in use today.<ref name="Glbet-el" /> The Dutch wore aprons bordered with black and with a skull and crossbones on the flap. Scottish lodges each have their individual right to choose the design, colour and shape of their aprons; some employ a tartan, while many others have a circular rather than a triangular flap.<ref name="Glbet-el"/> Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion wore leather aprons as part of their ceremonial dress as early as the 18th century.<ref name="The Aprons.com"/>

From these utilitarian beginnings, the modern apron got more stylish over time. During the Renaissance, more fanciful aprons crafted from finer fabrics began to appear—usually without bibs and often embroidered. Well-to-do women favored long dresses often with detachable sleeves, and to keep their expensive gowns clean, they wore washable aprons or overdresses in a range of embellishments and materials.<ref name="Food 52"/>

[[File:Apron, early XIXth century, original garment - Podhale.jpg|thumb|Early 19th century, apron from [[Podhale]]]]
Aprons became a fashion statement in the 1500s, when women started adorning them with expensive lace and embroidery.

Politics ruled women's fashion in 1650s England when Oliver Cromwell decreed that women and girls should dress properly. This sparked the Puritan look of a white apron covering a long black dress that reached from a woman's neck to her toes.<ref name="The Aprons.com"/>

At the height of the industrial revolution in Victorian England, the market was flooded with different types of aprons. The boom of factories and sewing machines meant that consumers had options: one could choose a full-body apron, a linen apron, a linen apron with ruffles or ruching or lace, a grosgrain apron with embroidery, or an apron with a flounce. Aprons were a way of indicating the difference in status between the employer and the employee, and the uniform of the staff was strictly regulated. For example, a housemaid might wear a print dress during the day and then change into a black dress and dress apron for the evening service.<ref name="Food 52"/>

In contemporary South Africa, young women wear beaded aprons to celebrate their coming of age.<ref name="Love to know"/>

===Ancient ceremonial aprons===
Examples of ancient gods wearing aprons can be found worldwide.<ref name="Glbet-el">{{cite web |url=http://www.glbet-el.org/masonictexte/The%20History%20and%20Meaning%20of%20the%20Apron.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=17 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510153159/http://www.glbet-el.org/masonictexte/The%20History%20and%20Meaning%20of%20the%20Apron.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2017 }}</ref> Fertility goddess figurines may be the earliest depiction of women wearing aprons. These ancient snake goddess figurines excavated in Crete depicted how Minoan women may have dressed in 1600 BCE: a tight bodice, bare breasts, and an embroidered or woven apron covering a long dress.<ref name="The Aprons.com" /> Monuments and wall paintings in Ancient Egypt depict a triangular-shaped apron with the point upward when the wearer is taking part in some kind of ceremony of initiation. In China, some of the ancient figures of the gods wear semi-circular aprons. In Central America the ancient gods are consistently sculpted wearing aprons. Tepoxtecatl (the preserver) is depicted wearing an apron with a triangular flap. Priests wore similar aprons as a sign of their allegiance to the gods and as a badge of their authority.<ref name="Glbet-el" />