The Apron Museum in

Iuka, Mississippi Iuka is a city in and the county seat of Tishomingo County, Mississippi, United States. Its population was 3,028 at the 2010 census. Woodall Mountain, the highest point in Mississippi, is located just south of Iuka. History Iuka is built on t ...

, is the only

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

dedicated to aprons and the stories they tell.Mary Margaret Halford: ''Tying one on at America's only Apron Museum'', https://mississippitoday.org/2016/11/19/tying-one-on-at-americas-only-apron-museum/, posted November 19, 2016. Mississippi Museums Association: ''The Apron Museum'', http://mississippimuseums.org/the-apron-museum/, last accessed May 31, 2017.

Founding

Iuka native Carolyn Terry founded the museum after attending estate sales and auctions in order to buy books. Terry was instead tempted by the fabric of the aprons, and would purchase bundles of aprons, which spurred her scholarly interest in the subject. Terry opened The Apron Museum in 2006.

Collections

The museum showcases thousands of aprons dating as far back as to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, as well as more modern pop-culture tribute aprons with ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' and ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' themes, and an apron with a napkin signed by

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...

stapled onto it.Ben Perdue: ''Iuka, Mississippi: World's Largest Apron Museum'', http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/48246, posted 06/21/2015 The aprons are organized by U.S. state, with aprons from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

also on display. Similarly to the

Museum of Bags and Purses The Museum of Bags and Purses ( nl, Tassenmuseum Amsterdam), was a museum devoted to the history of bags, purses, and their related accessories. Located in Amsterdam's historic central canal belt, the museum's collection included over 5,000 item ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, the Apron Museum treats its subject as an art form, demonstrating how artists drew their apron patterns out, the period

needlework Needlework is decorative sewing and textile arts handicrafts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework. Needlework may include related textile crafts such as crochet, worked with a hook, or tatting, worked with a ...

, the stitching and

sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabr ...

techniques, and how they were worn. Aprons have been important garments or accoutrements for

ladies The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer ( fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * Jame ...

shopkeeper A shopkeeper is a retail merchant or tradesman; one who owns or operates a small store or shop. Generally, shop employees are not shopkeepers, but are often incorrectly referred to as such. At larger companies, a shopkeeper is usually referred t ...

s and especially

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...

s,Marti Attoun: ''The Apron Museum'', http://americanprofile.com/articles/the-apron-museum-video/, posted June 30, 2011. but wealthy people could afford more expensive fabric, more elaborate

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

, and other more intricate features, so the aprons also offer insight into the

social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...

of the person who owned them, functioning as

status symbol A status symbol is a visible, external symbol of one's social position, an indicator of economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols. ''Status symbol'' is also a sociological term – as part of social and soci ...

s, similarly to designer purses and

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...

s today. The bulk of the collection is from the 1950s, when women donned stylish elaborate hostess aprons for

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and

garden parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

, and men wore

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

-style aprons for backyard barbecuing.Marti Attoun: ''The Apron Museum'', http://americanprofile.com/articles/the-apron-museum-video/, posted June 30, 2011. Construction materials include checkered cotton gingham, handkerchiefs, and recycled feed and flour sacks adorned with

appliqué Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...

d bows,

rickrack Rickrack is a flat piece of braided trim, shaped like a zigzag. It is used as a decorative element in clothes or curtains. Before the prevalence of sewing machines and overlockers, rickrack was used to provide a finished edge to fabric, and its ...

, ruffles and oversized pockets.Marti Attoun: ''The Apron Museum'', http://americanprofile.com/articles/the-apron-museum-video/, posted June 30, 2011. Many donations to the museum include a handwritten letter with the history of the apron and apron-related stories from visitors to the museum are preserved as part of the curated exhibit. Marti Attoun: ''The Apron Museum'', http://americanprofile.com/articles/the-apron-museum-video/, posted June 30, 2011.

In popular culture

The museum has been featured in ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feat ...

''.

References

External links

The Apron MuseumYoutube videos about The Apron Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apron Museum Museums in Tishomingo County, Mississippi Fashion museums Museums established in 2006 2006 establishments in Mississippi Aprons Iuka, Mississippi