Wednesday 4 December 2013

Pretty in pinafores




I can only find two photos of people in aprons of any sort in my collection. The first one is of two little girls in their lacey pinafores, probably to protect their good dresses while they played. They do look very sweet and innocent, and their pinafores look so pretty, perhaps they wore something else over them when they were really up to mischief! These two sisters, christened Bessie Irene and Flora Euphemia Forbes, were born in 1888 and 1889 in Canterbury NZ and became seamstresses in their adult lives. They were very close and seem to have always lived together.  Like so many women of their generation, their opportunities to marry would have been greatly reduced, due to the sacrifice of so many of their male contemporaries in World War 1. To me they were my maiden great aunts Bess and Flo, who've featured in previous posts of mine, for example Sepia Saturday 191.


The photo below shows my mother Jean and her friend Colleen, doing a spot of housework in their aprons. Jean is cleaning a shoe and Colleen appears to be hanging something on the tree. Perhaps they had also been doing some cooking in their aprons. Both these ladies now reside in aged care homes and are in rather poor health, but back in 1946 they were young, vivacious and having fun on holiday in Dunedin. I believe they met as students at teachers training college in the 1940s and have kept in touch ever since, despite Jean moving from NZ to Australia in 1956. The large brick building that can be partially glimpsed in the distance is Knox College at the University of Otago in Dunedin.


For  posts on perhaps rather more dedicated workers in aprons and other takes on this week's theme photo above, just head to Sepia Saturday 206. You may or may not find some there!

7 February 2014  - More apron photos spotted, perhaps in more ways than one!

A few years later, my mother and Jocelyn Ward, another old speech therapist friend of hers, are at Waikuku Beach, Canterbury NZ on the Labour day holiday weekend and rather strangely appear to be wearing aprons back to front! Maybe because they were sitting down on a dirty floor to do a spot more cleaning?

Jean and Jocelyn wearing their aprons back to front for some unknown reason
 A few years later, Miss Mischief in Cambridge was carrying on the apron wearing tradition, although  probably not doing any cleaning, in fact probably the opposite was true.



 And finally, here's one of father Ian, manning the garden BBQ in Canberra, in the early 1970s, stylishly attired in his cap and apron. 


16 comments:

GeniAus said...

Beaut photos, Jo.

Boobook said...

The girls' pinafores are so sweet. Probably their Sunday pinnies?

Anonymous said...

Not much apron wearing done these days. Such a pity.They could be quite attractive. Lovely photos.

ScotSue said...

Such a lovely photograph of two little ones In their best ";pinnys" - one to treasure. .

Barbara Rogers said...

Ah, I'd forgotten completely about pinafores. Thanks for that lovely pic.

Helen Killeen Bauch McHargue said...

The pinafores are lovely and the little girls so pretty. Maiden aunts seem to have played an important role in many of our lives. And how about all those unmarried, highly devoted school teachers we were lucky enough to have. Few of that type around any more.

Little Nell said...

Those little pinnies are so pretty and deserve to be worn for a special photograph. The working aprons of your mum and friend are more like the ones I remember.

Bob Scotney said...

Dwlightful picture of Bess and Flo' Jean and Colleen ate not bad either.

Postcardy said...

I like the picture of the women in wearing aprons. It is unusual and makes me wonder why someone decided to take that kind of photo.

Hazel said...

Beautiful photos! Glad someone took the photo of your mom and her friend to have an idea of life in the mid-40s in their part of the world.

Hazel

Alan Burnett said...

Great photos - particularly that second one. Photographs taken at that time in peoples' lives always seem so overflowing with potential.

Wendy said...

All I can do is sigh when I see youthful photos of people I knew only when they were old. I have the same reaction when I see a raggedy old house in disrepair with windows missing -- there was a time that house was brand new and families were moving in.

Kristin said...

Time just keeps passing. I bet those were their fancy pinafores, not to keep the dresses clean. The one of two working women is aprons is nice. I like day to day photos.

Jackie van Bergen said...

I hope your mum and her friend each have a copy of this photo to remind them of the fun they had together

Jofeath said...

I asked my mother if she could remember the story behind that photo, ie. why it was taken, but she didn't really understand my question, and just said " Because we liked each other!".

Wendy said...

HA -- what were Jean and Jocelyn up to? Funny Funny. But Ian wins "Best Look."