A pinafore (colloquially a pinny in

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

) is a sleeveless garment worn as an

apron An apron is a garment worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body to protect from liquids. They have several purposes, most commonly as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other typ ...

. Pinafores may be worn as a decorative garment or as a protective apron. A related term is ''

pinafore dress A jumper (in American English), jumper dress, or pinafore dress is a sleeveless, collarless dress intended to be worn over a blouse, shirt, T-shirt or sweater. Hemlines can be of different lengths and the type of collar and whether there is ple ...

'' (known as a ''jumper'' in

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

), i.e. a sleeveless dress intended to be worn over a top or

blouse A blouse () is a loose-fitting upper garment that may be worn by workmen, peasants, artists, women, and children.The Concise Oxford English Dictionary It is typically gathered at the waist or hips (by tight hem, pleats, parter, or belt) so th ...

. 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".

Differentiations

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 A bodice () is an article of clothing traditionally for women and girls, covering the torso from the neck to the waist. The term typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the ...

. 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 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 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 ''Cousin Phillis' ''is a novella published between 1863 and 1864 by Elizabeth Gaskell. It was first published in four parts in ''The Cornhill Magazine'', though a fifth and sixth part were planned. Later it was published in book form, including ...

'' by

Mrs Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer, and short story writer. Her novels offer detailed studies of Victorian society, inc ...

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."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. In modern times, the term "pinny" or "pinnie" has taken another meaning in

sportswear Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical spor ...

, namely a training

tabard A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more developed ...

scrimmage vest A scrimmage vest, sometimes referred to as a pinny ( NAE) or bib ( BrE), is a piece of clothing or sportswear, often made of mesh, used in practices as a substitute for a sports team's usual uniform or to differentiate temporary teams in informa ...

, double-sided short apron, often made of mesh, used to differentiate teams. This usage is chiefly used in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Tabards are also used by large retail stores to indicate employees.

History

The pinafore was a type of apron that was pinned over the dress and easily removed for washing. Buttons were frequently damaged by

lye Lye is the common name of various alkaline solutions, including soda lye (a solution of sodium hydroxide) and potash lye (a solution of potassium hydroxide). Lyes are used as cleaning products, as ingredients in soapmaking, and in various other c ...

soap, which was one reason why dresses were not laundered very often.

In popular culture

*''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London on 25 May 1878, and ran for 571 performances, w ...

'', a

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

by Gilbert and

Sullivan Sullivan may refer to: People Characters * Chloe Sullivan, from the television series ''Smallville'' * Colin Sullivan, a character in the film ''The Departed'', played by Matt Damon * Harry Sullivan (''Doctor Who''), from the British science f ...

, uses the word in its title as a comical name for a warship. *At the Lowood School in ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

'', the students are forced to make and wear their uniform which includes a pinafore. *

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

, the eponymous heroine of ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'', wore a white pinafore over a dress in

John Tenniel John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knight bachelor ...

's illustrations. *Swedish author

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil i Lönneberga, Emil of Lönneberga, ...

, known for the

Pippi Longstocking Pippi Longstocking () is the fictional main character in a series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story when she was off school. Pippi is ...

series, created a character,

Madicken Madicken is a fictional character created by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Madicken appeared in six books, and its adaptations: two films — '' Du är inte klok Madicken'' (1979) (''You're out of your mind, Maggie'') and ''Madicken på Juni ...

, who is often portrayed wearing a pinafore.

References

{{Clothing Aprons History of clothing (Western fashion)

Differentiations

History

In popular culture

See also

References