Submitted Photo

In 1999, few people cared about aprons. Some Baby Boomers considered them a symbol of bondage, worn back in the days when women were “slaves” to the kitchen. Most people looked at them as relics of the past, like washboards.

And while everyone was throwing and giving them away, EllynAnne Geisel was collecting them. Today, more than 400 aprons later, her investment has paid off.

“Ater 30 years in the dark ages, there has been a rebirth of aprons,” says Ms. Geisel, author of “The Apron Book, Making Wearing and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort.” Her award-winning book was published in October 2006 and is now in its sixth printing. She also has a traveling exhibit, “Apron Chronicles,” her own company called Apron Memories and will be coming out with two apron themed books in 2008, “Apronisms — words to live by” and “Vintage Hospitality.”

So what’s up with aprons?

It seems we are missing the care and comfort of domesticity. We want to sit down to home-cooked meals with all the wonderful aromas. It’s driving both women and men back to the kitchen in droves, she explains, as evidenced by the popularity of all the homemaking shows on TV.

And the apron is being rediscovered as not only a practical thing to wear in the kitchen, but as fun hostess attire, sold in upscale shops and hip boutiques.

“I see them as wearable art,” says Casey Wallersted, a 26-year-old St. Joseph designer and textile artist. She makes both full and half aprons in a variety of colorful, quilted fabrics, using novelty trims and men’s neckties as sashes. Customers at Mod-Podge, her downtown boutique and design studio, also like to buy matching quilted oven gloves.

If you were born after the age of aprons, “The Apron Book” will enlighten you on their history with photos, tips on collecting and preserving, and apron stories past and present. Ms. Geisel also includes patterns to make your own, including a basic waist, smock, bib and child’s apron. Then, whether you make it or buy it, “tie one on” with Ms. Geisel on Nov. 22. No, that doesn’t mean downing that bottle of wine you bought for the stew. It’s “Tie One On Day,” to celebrate the apron and the spirit of women who have worn it. On the eve of Thanksgiving, Ms. Geisel suggests wrapping a loaf of bread in an apron and tucking a prayer or note of encouragement in the pocket. Then deliver the bread to someone in need of spiritual or physical substance.

“The Apron Book” is available for $16.95 at most bookstores and on www.apronmemo ries.com.