Selling aprons

My mother used to sell aprons in a local department store. In the 70's most women wore aprons whilst doing the housework so they were big business. What type of apron you wore kinda defined your class and status. My mother sold them all from her neatly folded and carefully placed display on the ground floor near the back entrance.

My mother sold the pink and blue tabards, that had a strip either side that buttoned up with neat white buttons. Many ordinary housewife's wore them - sort of middle/lower middle class women. Not those that still scrubbed the door step.

She sold the full overcoat overalls, in full block colours of pink or white or blue, maybe trimmed with a white strip and neat white buttons. Some of the fancy ones had large silver poppers up the front and were made of a strong cotton. These needed lots of ironing, but were more for the middle/upper class. Although 'nice' women wore their underwear underneath - others answered the door to the milkman commando.

My mother also sold the smaller shield shape aprons, the ones that tied around the waist by long ribbons of matching material. The good ones often had contrasting frills around the main body of the front that fluttered around the outside. These were much cheaper and often plainer, made of polyester or nylon, so easy to care for and even then considered old fashioned, only preferred by more mature ladies.

All aprons were made of cotton, or cotton mix (they had to be ironed but could be boiled and so kept spotlessly clean), or polyester or nylon. The nylon ones were often patterned and more brightly coloured and much easier to dry but not necessarily preferred as they inferred lower status.

My mother tied the stand constantly, folding and re-folding the aprons; she kept the area spotless and incredibly neat. She chatted to her customers because there was always time to talk. She talked to the staff from other departments nearby. It was a friendly area. There was always time for the old ladies who probably didn't need another apron but like to come into the store for their lunch in the cafe and a chat with the staff. They came in on the bus every Wednesday because Wednesday was market day.

My mother also sold tea towels and wash clothes and small hand towels.

DiH