Girl wearing pinafore, Denver, Colorado, circa 1910Two girls wearing pinafores, Ireland, circa 1903Candy stripers in training in Tallahassee, 1957.
Pinafores may be worn as a decorative garment or as a protective apron. A related term is pinafore dress (known as a jumper in American English), i.e. a sleeveless dress intended to be worn over a top or blouse. A key difference between a pinafore and a pinafore dress is that the former is open in the back. In informal British usage, however, a pinafore dress is sometimes referred to as simply a pinafore, which can lead to confusion. Nevertheless, this has led some authors to use the term "pinafore apron", although this is redundant as pinafore alone implies an apron.
The name reflects the pinafore having formerly pinned (pin) to the front (afore) of a dress. The pinafore had no buttons and was simply "pinned on the front".[2]
Pinafores are often confused with smocks. Some languages do not differentiate between these different garments. The pinafore differs from a smock in that it does not have sleeves and there is no back to the bodice. Smocks have both sleeves and a full bodice, both front and back.
A pinafore is a full apron with two holes for the arms that is tied or buttoned in the back, usually just below the neck. Pinafores have complete front shaped over shoulder while aprons usually have no bib, or only a smaller one. A child's garment to wear at school or for play would be a pinafore. More recently, other types of full or dress-like aprons are also occasionally referred to as pinafores. In particular, this is the case for an apron with a full skirt, bib and criss-cross shoulder straps.
Further confusion results from some foreign languages, which, unlike English, do not have a distinctive term for the pinafore. In German, for example, there is no precise term for "pinafore". Schürze means "apron" and thus Kinderschürze is used to describe a child's apron or pinafore (in contrast to the German word "Kittelschürze", which refers to an adult garment, typically worn by older women for housework tasks and cleaning).
In 19th century England the pinafore was considered an appropriate garment for girls but on reaching womanhood they were expected to wear aprons. The young narrator of Cousin Phillis by Mrs Gaskell is disturbed to notice, on first meeting his 17-year-old cousin, that she still wears a pinafore: "I thought it odd that so old, so full-grown as she was, she should wear a pinafore over her gown...A great tall girl in a pinafore, half a head taller than I was.." Later he notes: "Phillis left off wearing the pinafores that had always been so obnoxious to me; I do not know why they were banished, but on one of my visits I found them replaced by pretty linen aprons in the morning, and a black silk one in the afternoon."[3]
In modern times, the term "pinny" or "pinnie" has taken another meaning in sportswear, namely a training tabard or scrimmage vest, double-sided short apron, often made of mesh, used to differentiate teams. This usage is chiefly used in the United States and Canada. Tabards are also used by large retail stores to indicate employees.
Historyedit
The pinafore was a type of apron that was pinned over the dress and easily removed for washing. Buttons were frequently damaged by lye soap, which was one reason why dresses were not laundered very often.[citation needed]
The Observatory Pinafore, a comic opera about the computers at the Harvard Observatory, inspired by the H.M.S. Pinafore, written in 1879 and performed in 1879 (see Transcript).
At the Lowood School in Jane Eyre, the students are forced to make and wear their uniform which includes a pinafore.
Granville, the errand boy of the British TV series Open All Hours, frequently complains about his having to wear a pinny and his being unable to acquire a modern look because of the pinny.
British television programme Sugar Rush describes one of the main characters, Nathan, as "Half man, Half pinny."
The song "Emmy Lou", by U.S. Acoustic Americana band The Gravy Boys contains the lyrics, "Emmy Lou, I've been watching you, with your pinafore and custom shade".
^Pinafore, definition in the Merriam Webster dictionary.
^"Pinafore - definition of pinafore by The Free Dictionary". TheFreeDictionary.com.
^Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell Cousin Phillis(1864) Parts I and II. The book describes a girl's transition to adolescence and experience of a first, acutely unhappy, love affair. Her teenage cousin easily perceives her suffering and its cause but her parents, to whom she is still a much-loved child, do not.
March 14, 2024
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Look up pinafore in Wiktionary the free dictionary Pinny redirects here For the 20th century New York assemblywoman see Pinny Cooke Pinnie redirects here For the sportswear see Scrimmage vest For other uses see Pinafore disambiguation A pinafore ˈ p ɪ n e f ɔːr colloquially a pinny ˈ p ɪ n i in British English is a sleeveless garment worn as an apron 1 Girl wearing pinafore Denver Colorado circa 1910Two girls wearing pinafores Ireland circa 1903Candy stripers in training in Tallahassee 1957 Pinafores may be worn as a decorative garment or as a protective apron A related term is pinafore dress known as a jumper in American English i e a sleeveless dress intended to be worn over a top or blouse A key difference between a pinafore and a pinafore dress is that the former is open in the back In informal British usage however a pinafore dress is sometimes referred to as simply a pinafore which can lead to confusion Nevertheless this has led some authors to use the term pinafore apron although this is redundant as pinafore alone implies an apron The name reflects the pinafore having formerly pinned pin to the front afore of a dress The pinafore had no buttons and was simply pinned on the front 2 Contents 1 Differentiations 2 History 3 In popular culture 4 See also 5 ReferencesDifferentiations editPinafores are often confused with smocks Some languages do not differentiate between these different garments The pinafore differs from a smock in that it does not have sleeves and there is no back to the bodice Smocks have both sleeves and a full bodice both front and back A pinafore is a full apron with two holes for the arms that is tied or buttoned in the back usually just below the neck Pinafores have complete front shaped over shoulder while aprons usually have no bib or only a smaller one A child s garment to wear at school or for play would be a pinafore More recently other types of full or dress like aprons are also occasionally referred to as pinafores In particular this is the case for an apron with a full skirt bib and criss cross shoulder straps Further confusion results from some foreign languages which unlike English do not have a distinctive term for the pinafore In German for example there is no precise term for pinafore Schurze means apron and thus Kinderschurze is used to describe a child s apron or pinafore in contrast to the German word Kittelschurze which refers to an adult garment typically worn by older women for housework tasks and cleaning In 19th century England the pinafore was considered an appropriate garment for girls but on reaching womanhood they were expected to wear aprons The young narrator of Cousin Phillis by Mrs Gaskell is disturbed to notice on first meeting his 17 year old cousin that she still wears a pinafore I thought it odd that so old so full grown as she was she should wear a pinafore over her gown A great tall girl in a pinafore half a head taller than I was Later he notes Phillis left off wearing the pinafores that had always been so obnoxious to me I do not know why they were banished but on one of my visits I found them replaced by pretty linen aprons in the morning and a black silk one in the afternoon 3 In modern times the term pinny or pinnie has taken another meaning in sportswear namely a training tabard or scrimmage vest double sided short apron often made of mesh used to differentiate teams This usage is chiefly used in the United States and Canada Tabards are also used by large retail stores to indicate employees History editThe pinafore was a type of apron that was pinned over the dress and easily removed for washing Buttons were frequently damaged by lye soap which was one reason why dresses were not laundered very often citation needed In popular culture editH M S Pinafore a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan uses the word in its title as a comical name for a warship The Observatory Pinafore a comic opera about the computers at the Harvard Observatory inspired by the H M S Pinafore written in 1879 and performed in 1879 see Transcript At the Lowood School in Jane Eyre the students are forced to make and wear their uniform which includes a pinafore Alice the eponymous heroine of Alice s Adventures in Wonderland wore a white pinafore over a blue dress in John Tenniel s illustrations A song and album title by the English art rock group Stackridge is called Pinafore Days Swedish author Astrid Lindgren known for the Pippi Longstocking series created a character Madicken who is often portrayed wearing a pinafore Granville the errand boy of the British TV series Open All Hours frequently complains about his having to wear a pinny and his being unable to acquire a modern look because of the pinny British television programme Sugar Rush describes one of the main characters Nathan as Half man Half pinny The song Emmy Lou by U S Acoustic Americana band The Gravy Boys contains the lyrics Emmy Lou I ve been watching you with your pinafore and custom shade See also editApron Overalls Smock frock Tabard PinaforingReferences edit Pinafore definition in the Merriam Webster dictionary Pinafore definition of pinafore by The Free Dictionary TheFreeDictionary com Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell Cousin Phillis 1864 Parts I and II The book describes a girl s transition to adolescence and experience of a first acutely unhappy love affair Her teenage cousin easily perceives her suffering and its cause but her parents to whom she is still a much loved child do not Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pinafore amp oldid 1193528088, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
