WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-The Apron's Resurgence

St. Johnsbury, Vermont - June 19, 2009

They say as much as things change, they stay the same.

Cutting fabric, Susannah Allen says, "I started when I was 12." Allen still has that same passion for sewing she had as a kid.

She remembers, "The first time I got paid to make a gown, I was 15. I thought, 'Oh, this is fun, and I get a paycheck!' This is good, I can do this!'"

Now, the experienced seamstress has her own downtown St. Johnsbury storefront, with an unusual focus. Here, it's all aprons all the time. The businesswoman chuckles, "I think I was surprised as well!"

Surprised, she explains, because these old trappings of kitchens everywhere have seen a resurgence in popularity. Allen says, "The 20-year-olds coming in here buying aprons, they don't have a memory of grandma in an apron. It's a new item for them."

Allen didn't even plan to open a store until colorful, patterned aprons she brought to craft shows out-sold her other products at a wild pace. She links their popularity to other current trends, explaining, "A lot of people come in here say they're starting their own garden and learning to cook. So there is a return to that."

Aprons aren't all cut from the same cloth, either. Holding up a design with a lace collar, the designer says, "Women wear this serving a fine dinner."

She says some brides have bought fancy light-colored aprons to keep expensive dresses clean during the wedding reception dinner, and cooking is certainly not just women's work. Men's aprons are cut broader and with simpler fabrics. "We sold more men's aprons in the first few months than women's aprons," explains Allen.

The Vermont Apron Company is now considering how to leverage the apparent resurgence of these garments. She is weighing the options of a catalog or wholesale. Allen expects this to be a nationwide trend.

She says, "It's another layer of clothing. It's like coats and sweaters. You have coats for different purposes and it's the same with aprons."

What's old is new again, and is "Made in Vermont."

Jack Thurston - WCAX News - Made in Vermont