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Apron Strings, Michigan Historical Museum. Image courtesy ExhibitsUSA.

Exhibit
Sneak
Peek

Michigan
Apron
Challenge
- See the winning aprons!

Make an Apron:
Apron Ideas

More about Aprons

Kids' Stuff

 

Apron: the word comes from the French naperon, meaning small tablecloth. But aprons are much more than cloths to protect clothing. They are reminders of mothers and grandmothers and the wonderful smells of supper cooking. They recall the butcher, the baker, the carpenter and the smells of baking bread and of fresh-sawn wood. They can be folk art or high fashion. They carry historic context and cultural messages about what is beautiful, how time is spent and what is important.

From July 5 to August 18, 2002, the Michigan Historical Museum celebrated the apron with an exhibit by Joyce Cheney, author of Aprons: Icons of the American Home. Apron Strings included more than 150 vintage and contemporary aprons. 

Aprons from the museum's own collections were also on display throughout the permanent exhibits on the museum's second and third floors. Take a sneak peek at some of these aprons.

Winners and selected entries in the Michigan Apron Challenge were also exhibited in conjunction with the Apron Strings. These aprons can now be seen online.


This exhibit is a program of ExhibitsUSA, A National Division of Mid-America Arts Alliance.

Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries
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