There is only one good reason to wear a hip-pack while at work. That’s because you couldn’t find an acceptable apron to do the job. Nah. That’s also not a good reason.
Good news. You’ve landed on a site that can help you find the ideal apron. We’ll come back to that in a minute.
Aprons are nothing new to humanity, not men or women. They’ve served a timeless purpose of utility, one that might also serve the common pedestrian as well if not better than a hip pack.
The common argument for a hip pack is that it zips closed, but that doesn’t make up for the street cred you surrender wearing one. Just look at this picture of the Rock wearing one, and he’s easily one of the coolest people alive right now.
Look how not-cool he looks. Now, imagine if he had on a sweet apron. He’d look as cool as this guy.
Clearly, hip packs are for silly folks, even if they’re otherwise cool, and aprons are for the truly hip, even if they’re otherwise not the coolest.
The right apron gets the job done perfectly for its respective profession. In fact, you might want to consider wearing one for your non-professional life.
A Word About Aprons for Men
Can we stop calling them skirts? Men have been wearing aprons as long as women if not longer. They’ve also been wearing kilts, but that’s a whole ‘nother conversation.
The manliest of aprons were worn by men in professions like blacksmithing, smelting, logging, and farriering.
Don’t know farriers? Sure you do. Those are the danger-loving blokes that slap metal on the hooves of horses.
For jobs like those, aprons don’t come in cotton. They’re only cut from the toughest leathers if not covered in chain metal as an extra precaution. There’s zero room for a hip pack.
An apron for one of these jobs would not only need to provide pockets for sharp tools, but protection from scalding metal, misguided sharp tools, and liquid metal or splashes of said metal.
A zippered-pouch would do nothing to protect you in such matters. As such, there was nothing skirt-like about aprons for these jobs. That fact remains today.
Men today, and women alike wear aprons not so different from the ones worn hundreds of years ago. That’s because it’s hard to improve on a simple, perfect design.
Work Aprons
Aprons work for work range from simple tool aprons, which do little more than make a handy stash for tools, to larger than life shop aprons which seem to do everything.
Some folks believe with the best of intentions that a pair of trusty cargo shorts or pants can do the job.
Cargo shorts are great, but the problem with cargos of any length is that they put your tools too far away. You’re better off with an apron.
While the history of the apron might be more on the side of protecting the wearer, today’s work aprons are mostly about keeping the tools you need handy.
For jobs like the service industry, they provide protection not from dangerous elements of your work, but also from spills. That way the wearer can keep tomato sauce and red wine off her white oxford.
Aprons also move the most important tools of your work into an easy-access location, the hips. Pants pockets, if you have them, are too deep to dig into on the fly.
Even from a seated position, you can get to the things you need most, pens, notepads, and other tools.
Chef Apron
A chef needs an apron to perform a handful of functions. It needs to stash some tools, like pens or small items. Cooking utensils are too big to spend a long amount of time in a chef’s apron.
The apron a chef wears also may identify her as the chef with an embroidered name on the breast. It will also match the color of the uniforms for the restaurant, but might stand out with a unique pattern or custom cut.
While a chef’s apron will safe many chefs from smashed scalding water and various accidents in the kitchen, they’ll most likely serve as a mobile towel rack. Tucked into the waist of most chefs you’ll find a towel for wiping the edge of plates to make them more presentable.
Modern chefs tend to wear bib aprons, like the one from Chef Designs or Fashion Seal. Cut at or above the knees, these aprons allow for maximum coverage without compromising movement.
For chefs or restaurants that need bulk orders of aprons, we recommend the Fashion Seal version. For one-offs, check out the Chef Designs version.
I DO need to order bulk.
Server Apron
Away from the heat of the kitchen, servers find that an apron provides them with a place to keep tools like table crumbers, wine keys, pens, and notepads.
The traditional cut for a server’s apron has been the two or three pockets waist apron, like the one from Chef Designs (pictured above).
In more recent history, bib aprons like the ones chefs wear and bistro aprons, longer versions of the one by Chef Designs have also started popping up. These choices are most certainly driven more by fashion than function.
In fact, in a hot restaurant, longer aprons might make for a sweaty server, which is never welcome. Nobody wants the server dripping beads of sweat into their food or drinks.
When in doubt, stick to the traditional short apron. Edwards makes a bistro apron with one pocket, two pockets, and one that’s half-length for sweaty servers.
Let me see that half bistro from Edwards
Bartender Apron
Do a quick Google search of “old west bartender.” Guaranteed, you’ll see picture after picture of a man with a ridiculous mustache donning a full-length apron.
Bartenders wearing aprons is a tradition that goes back as long as bartenders have been washing glasses. Well, maybe it would be better to call it wiping glasses.
There is no image more classic of the bartender, other than one of him pouring a drink, than that of one polishing drinking glasses. The bottom of the apron (the part closest to the dirty floor) was perfect for wiping off spots.
It’s safe to say we should all be grateful that this tradition ended with the advent of machine washing. What didn’t go was bartenders wear full-length aprons.
As far as clearing spots, today’s bartenders tend to use towels to wipe glasses. That doesn’t mean they don’t wear aprons to hold bottle openers and pens.
What else would they wear? A hip pack? Not if they want to get any tips.
Shop Apron
This one is a classic. Harkening back to simpler times, the shop aprons worn by laborers today pull forward through time some of the rugged elements found in aprons for ages.
Other than the implementation of modern textiles, these are the same aprons worn by the laborers who came before them. The Round House shop apron (pictured above) is rugged enough to take most elements, flashes of fire from the backyard grill or oil spills in the garage.
You might want something a little tougher for melting steel, though. The Round House version is 12-ounce denim or duck, depending on which version you pick.
From a comfort standpoint, denim and duck move about the same, but they won’t protect you from white hot metal.
Like any good shop apron, the Round House version offers two pockets, one high and one low. What’s more, as with every article made by Round House, this apron is 100 percent made in the USA.
How’s that for tough?
The fact is, you could find the dumbest looking hip pack, grow out a handlebar mustache, and act like you’re cool all day long. Your friends might even think your hipster style is actually enviable.
They’d be wrong.
If you’re truly committed to being an ironic commentary on what folks consider normal, go with an apron. Wear it all the time, like it were your belt.
Just don’t be surprised when your friends all start wearing them too.
Take me to cool right now.
About the Author
Nick Warrick
Nick Warrick is the Sales Manager at All Seasons Uniforms. With over 15 years of experience in the work uniform business, he has worked with hundreds of clients across 20 different industries. Holding bachelor’s degrees in both Business Administration and Information Technology, Nick revamped the company’s online presence, offering its customers a new uniform shopping experience.