Mikalah Gordon models her heart-pocket apron, which she wears in a music video.
Why do men think aprons are so sexy on women?
A few years back I had a lingerie and accessories shop on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, and one day a nice lady came in and asked if I would make some aprons for a photoshoot that she was doing with Paris Hilton’s new show on E! Television Network.
She wanted one or two that looked ‘retro,’ to be worn with ruffled dish washing gloves.
We made some aprons for her that were inspired by the aprons that I remembered seeing on “I love Lucy.” We did them in gingham check and polka dotted fabric with cute heart pockets and ruffles.
I don’t remember if they used them or not, but it got our company into making aprons to go along with the rest of our cute line of feminine things.
After that we put an apron on a vintage mannequin in the store window for all of the years that we were open. The reactions from the passersby and our customers were a surprise to me on a daily basis.
I was especially surprised with the reactions from men.
Model actress India Summer wears a Mimi a la Mode pink apron.
Random males would poke their head in the door and say meekly “Wow that apron is so sexy!” looking sort of ashamed when they said it.
I was like “huh?”
At that time we sold in the store, sheer nighties, fishnet stocking and impossibly small thong panties… yet the apron that comes down to the knees of the headless size 12 mannequin is sexy!?!
How did that make any sense?
That really got me thinking about what it is that makes a modest garment something sexy and alluring to men?
My first thought is that women’s modern dressing has changed so much over the years.
For centuries women wore delightfully feminine dresses, corsets and heels, but could hardly move around or breathe.
The seventies decade came along and women burned their bras and wore flowing dresses because they could not take wearing all the uncomfortable clothing and other assorted oppression.
Then the eighties designers had women in big shoulder pads and in the nineties we wore stark, mannish beige pantsuits without a frill in sight. The big poofy skirts just went away except for the poor bridesmaids in awful colored taffeta.
“Feminine” dress started disappearing into casual wear that is sometimes sexy but not always feminine. The modern day millennium style of dress with women seems to be black stretch pants left on from morning yoga class until evening, with track shoes and no undies as the norm.
But what about resurrecting the classic “feminine” look? How can you achieve the frilly vintage look in a low-maintenance way?
An apron!
A sexy, frilly apron is a way for women to instantly dress and look feminine for a few minutes without all the effort of garter belts and heels and whatnot, and get down to cooking a meal.
As well as keep your clothes safe from kitchen accidents from a purely practical standpoint.
I think the apron to the male mind is something different altogether.
The apron to him seems to be a symbol of his “Mother” reminding him of when he felt safe secure and loved as a little boy. And it is an indication that he will be eating something delicious very soon! The saying ”The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” still has some pull according to my retail research.
I have taken on the wrath and backlash of angry women telling me that what I do is a step back for females. The ‘old school’ feminine look perhaps reminds them of the struggle for income equality and other issues. But I say, as long as we actually are empowered and independent, what’s wrong with some sexy ruffles from another era? Feeling sexy doesn’t make me feel weak.
I think playing roles of all kinds is sexy – but does it always have to be the vixen in black leather and a whip for date night?
Why not tie on an apron, put the take-out food onto a plate, light a few candles, and nurturing your male’s heart. He’s likely to return the favor.
Visit Mimi A La Mode design house of shower caps sleep mask spa wraps aprons and flip flops!
