just add pearls

There's a lot of reasons why it sucked to be a woman in the '50s. While you were slaving over meatloaf dinners all day, hubby was off at work and, if Mad Men is to be believed, sleeping with most of the women in Manhattan. Still, if you were bound to the kitchen, at least you got to wear pretty aprons. There's a glut of these hostess-with-the-mostess staples on the market right now, but my favorites are from Florence Adams, a ridiculously adorable and cheaper-than-Anthropolgie online shop based in (wait for it) Kansas. Florence is the 90-year-old matriarch -- and daughter of a Depression-era carpenter and his wife -- who inspired the store. Just read this snippet from the web site and try and tell me you don't love Florence, too:

"With the help of friends, their only daughter was able to spend her high school years at a convent boarding school near the family home. From both the Sisters and her mother she learned all those feminine virtues that are so missed today. This education encompassed everything from how to set a lovely table, to running a home and dressing beautifully and modestly."

I would like to buy an apron from you, Florence. I would also like to have a nice visit with you over a cinnamon raisin bun and a cup of Sanka.