The humble apron has long been an essential item of workwear, used to protect the person and clothes underneath. From medieval times until the 20th century, generations of blacksmiths and farriers wore stout leather aprons that protected them from sparks, provided a lap for metal sheets and a pad for horses’ hooves, the skirt often fringed or split down the centre to cover each leg separately. Cobblers also used leather aprons and when worn by tanners and slaughtermen they guarded against splashes and knife injuries. In London Labour and the London Poor (1851), Henry Mayhew described how the women who sieved rubbish for salvage wore a strong leather apron from their necks to the extremity of their petticoats, while over this was another leather apron, shorter, padded thickly…

Early seamen wore tarred aprons and Newhaven fishwives became famous for their striped aprons, turned up to form deep pockets, although eventually waterproof oilskin and rubber versions were used in fishing ports and in meat markets. Butchers and street vendors handling animal carcasses adopted blue cloth aprons, which partially obscured stains: by the mid-1800s many butchers favoured the iconic blue and white striped aprons still worn by some. Aprons of strong woollen baize dyed green became associated with furniture-removers, while millers, bakers and cooks handling flour were camouflaged by large white linen aprons. Although aprons weren’t suited to all agricultural tasks, female field workers wore them and rural craftsmen such as hedgers used coarse sacking aprons.

Aprons as badges of servitude became widely adopted by female domestic servants: initially a half-apron tied around the waist but during the 1880s maids’ aprons acquired bibs and in the 1890s shoulder straps. Nurses’ uniforms also required starched white aprons, worn over the dress. Later, modern button-through overalls were developed for many occupations.