Aprons for cafés and bakeries: size, colour, pockets and logos
A café apron is worn all day, washed constantly and seen by every customer. Here is how to choose the style, colour, pockets and logo so it works on both counts.
In a café or bakery the apron is both a piece of workwear and part of the brand. Staff wear it for a full shift, it meets flour, coffee, milk and hot trays, and it goes through the laundry several times a week. Customers see it at the counter. A good apron handles both jobs without compromise.
Bib or waist apron
A bib apron covers the chest and suits bakers, baristas and anyone near splashes or flour. A waist apron (also called a bistro apron) covers only from the waist down and suits floor staff who carry pads, pens and cards. Many cafés use bib aprons behind the counter and waist aprons on the floor, in the same cloth and colour.
Sizes
Aprons are usually made in one or two sizes with adjustable fit. Typical dimensions are:
| Style | Typical width | Typical length |
|---|---|---|
| Bib apron | 70-80 cm | 85-95 cm |
| Long waist apron | 70-90 cm | 70-80 cm |
| Short waist apron | 70-90 cm | 35-45 cm |
An adjustable neck strap, through a slider or a slotted channel, lets one bib apron fit most staff. Long ties that can wrap round and tie at the front are popular because they are easier to fasten mid-shift.
Cloth and colour
Most café aprons are made in Cotton Drill 255 gsm: dense enough to resist abrasion and to carry pockets, soft enough to be comfortable all day. For a heavier, more structured apron, Cotton Canvas is the alternative and gives a workshop look. Both can be piece-dyed to a solid shade or printed.
Colour is a practical choice as well as a brand one. Dark navy, charcoal and bottle green hide coffee and everyday marks; natural and light shades show flour less but show coffee more. A stripe breaks up marks well, which is why the pinstriped bib apron is a classic: our own collection is in Cotton Drill 255 gsm with a white pinstripe in dark navy, red, bottle green and charcoal grey.
Pockets that get used
- Chest pocket on a bib apron, often split for a pen and a thermometer.
- Wide front pocket at hip height, divided into two or three sections for pads, phones and cloths.
- Reinforced corners: bar tacks at pocket openings stop them tearing when staff lean on them.
Ask staff what they carry before fixing the layout. A pocket that is too shallow for a card reader or too narrow for a notepad will be ignored.
Logos
There are three common ways to add a logo. Embroidery is durable and looks premium, but stiffens the cloth locally. A woven label sewn onto the pocket is discreet and inexpensive. Printing the cloth lets the logo become part of a pattern or sit in a fixed position on every panel; with digital printing there is no screen cost, so short runs of branded aprons are practical.
Laundering
Café aprons are washed hot and often, sometimes by a commercial laundry. Ask for wash fastness results (ISO 105-C06) on the dyed or printed cloth, and check shrinkage after washing so the fit does not change. Dark shades should be checked for rubbing fastness (ISO 105-X12), because a navy apron rubbing onto a white shirt is a common complaint. Plan enough aprons per person to cover the laundry cycle: with daily washing, three per member of staff is a sensible minimum, so there is always a clean one on the hook while others are away.
Tell us the style, colour, pockets and quantity you need, and we will suggest a quality from our apron fabrics and send samples. Use the contact page to ask.
