In Europe pieces of aprons have been found in womens graves as far back as the Viking ages, something that suggests that Nordic women used aprons from about 800 b.c. and today. But it did not become visible as a part of womens clothing until the 1500-century when the middle ages ended, and brought with it and end to the use of the long unisex dress that both males and females had been wearing for centuries. Now the renessines aera started, and with it came freedom for many people and not the least a renewal of womens clothing. The dress turned into a two piece with top and skirt, the skirt became shorter and more practical, and the dresscode was more looser and freer. But soon the Spanish kingdom stated that the waist piece should be tighten, and that no piece of a womans body should be shown; the neck was hidden by big collars, and the arms in wide puffarms. The woman was "hidden" inside lyers of frilly skirts, and on the front of the skirt there was supposed to be a small piece of fabric in a diffrent color; it was the apron that now got its big breakthru as a fashion object.

In the 1700-century the apron changed shape. From being long and thin, it became shorter and wider, until it went around the skirt with an opening in the back. In the 1800-century the patternprinted cottonfabrics came into fashion. At first, an apron made out of a patterned cottonfabric was very exclusive, but when the prices on the American cottonmarket went down, these fabrics became more common. The apron was still a very important piece of a womans clothing, and was used by every female at the time. The attitude towards the apron was different depending on what social status you had. In the higher classes the apron was mostly used as an assecorry, but in the working class the apron was a very important part of the dress code.

Old fashion superstition made people belive that women were dangerous and unclean. Among people no woman could show herself without an apron. This should cover her dangerousness and protect others from evil forces. In the Nordic countries it was not unusual for women to use mulitple layers of aprons to protect those around her from illnesses and bad luck. A pregnant woman had to have no less then 2 aprons - one on top of and one under her dress. If she did not do this, the unborn child would get sick. To meet a woman without an apron was a very bad sign - especially for a man that was about to travel. But superstition also gave a woman positive powers with the usage of aprons. In Sweden i.e, animals were said to become more attached to the farm if a woman laid an apron outside the barn for the animals to walk over.

In the beginning of the 1900 century it was also common that little boys wore aprons, and until the 1940's a nice clean apron belonged to a girls school uniform. The white stiff apron with the matching headcap became the waitress's uniform as maids were less common. In the 50's the housewife were supposed to manage the cooking and serving herself, so the little, nice "hostessapron" became her trademark.