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By Katie Okamoto
Katie Okamoto is an editor on the discovery team. She’s covered the intersections of products, sustainability, and health for more than a decade.
For many years, I loved baking to relax, but I hated wearing aprons. I could not get mine off quickly enough.
At 5-foot-4, I found most aprons to be more of a hindrance than a help—too long, too wide, too voluminous, threatening to snag and overturn a pot of custard or even catch fire.
But my biggest grievance was that this baking I was doing, ostensibly to “loosen up,” was making me tense. Or more accurately, my around-the-neck apron was.
No matter how I adjusted it or knotted it, the loop urged my neck forward, putting strain on my cervical spine and, in turn, my shoulders.
I tried not wearing an apron, but I’m as messy in the kitchen as I am achy.
The thing is, I can barely remember this dark chapter of my baking life.
The Hedley & Bennett Crossback Apron has been my kitchen companion for more than a year, and as with most great designs, I take it so much for granted that I usually forget I’m wearing it.
I wear it to bake. I wear it to wash up. I wear it to cook dinner. And I often wear it to eat dinner.
I’m not alone in my affection: Out of 30 aprons, this one emerged as the most-liked style in tests for our guide to the best aprons. I anticipate many more years of forgetting that I even have it on.
The favorite among our testers, this apron is comfortable, soft yet sturdy, and adjustable to fit a wide range of bodies.
Neck-loop aprons can exacerbate chronic neck and shoulder pain arising from computer and phone use—something that many people know all too well. In the kitchen, you may also crane over the stove and counter to cook or to read recipes, so that strain can add up. Crossback aprons distribute their weight on your shoulders, so they’re more comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
Not all crossback aprons are created equal, however. The Hedley & Bennett Crossback Apron is actually my second from the company; my first, which I have since demoted to “guest apron,” was a linen version of the crossback Smock. However, though the Smock solved my neck-pain problems, it kept me from entering the flow state that I’m always seeking in the kitchen. It was billowing and loose, and it made me feel like I was in my own way, with straps that were prone to sliding down.
The Crossback Apron has none of those issues, thanks to an adjustable design that fits many heights and sizes. The inch-wide straps, made from cotton webbing that conforms to your body, never gap or dig. One strap threads through a loop sewn into the other, and both slide freely when you tug on the ends of the straps that tie around your waist. I appreciate that the bib can sit as low or high on my chest as I want and lies flush against my chest without flopping forward. Though I’m relatively short, I never feel swallowed by it. I get a perfectly snug fit every time, without the need to readjust.
Senior staff writers Tim Heffernan and Michael Sullivan, who are both taller than I am and tested this apron, agree that the fit hugs the body, keeping fabric from catching on things (or catching fire) and protecting your sides from flying flour or splatters. Michael uses this apron at home and says that it has also saved his neck during long cooking sessions.
This apron has protected me and my ill-planned white jeans from several mishaps, including an overzealously blended tomato soup, a cocoa explosion, and fried tofu splashed with chili oil and soy sauce. I wipe my hands on the apron with reckless abandon, no matter what I’m wearing underneath—I’m not worried at all about soak-through.
I credit Hedley & Bennett’s sturdy but supple all-cotton twill (the same weave used in denim). The company is so confident in the apron’s material and construction that it offers a lifetime guarantee, as long as you’ve used the apron as recommended. Some heavy-duty aprons can be unpleasantly stiff, but this twill is soft to the touch and breathable, although some testers said they found it more insulating than others.
Because of the apron’s thickness and the dark blue color that I chose, I don’t feel the need to wash the apron that often—but when I do, the weight of the twill keeps it from wrinkling too much in the dryer. It never looks rumpled or unkempt, which is good, because I cannot be bothered to iron. As with a good pair of jeans, after repeat washes I expect this apron to become softer and more supple but no less durable.
Once you find an apron with good pockets, there’s no going back to a pocketless existence. Aside from the storage benefit, they provide a resting spot for your arms as you stand around waiting (which is what a lot of cooking and baking ends up being). For me, the Hedley & Bennett Crossback Apron’s two front patch pockets have become kitchen essentials. Since they are deep and made from the same durable cotton fabric as the rest of the apron, they don’t flop forward, and they keep long spoons and weightier tools (such as a phone) snug against my body.
These pockets are vastly preferable to the pockets on most of my clothes, which is one reason I so often sit down to dinner with my apron still on. Another is that it doubles as an excellent napkin.
When I bought it, around $100 seemed like a lot to spend on an apron. But considering how much grief the other aprons gave me, how much I wear this one, and how long it will last, I think that’s $100 well spent, especially knowing that I can stretch that investment over many years.
I cover sustainability at Wirecutter, and I’m concerned about the disposability of the things that people wear. So many things that people buy to put on their bodies will end up in landfills or polluting oceans far away. But I’m also wary of moralizing consumerism dressed up as sustainability, which can be simply another way to justify more spending and more waste. Besides, “buying for life” can be impractical when it comes to wearable things: Bodies change, growing and shrinking with time, and so do tastes.
I say all this because I feel strongly that this apron is an exception, a genuine case for buying a garment for life. (If you can call an apron a garment, that is—and I say, why not?) I have a feeling that I will never buy another apron—unless it’s this one, as a gift for someone else. The only functional wear that Hedley & Bennett anticipates over time involves the straps. As with any textile, the less you wash the apron, the longer the straps will last, and it’s easier on the environment to wash less, too. When it comes time to fix the straps, the company offers strap replacement for a small fee.
Better still, because of the apron’s adjustable design, I’ll be able to wear it comfortably no matter what size I happen to be. With luck, the Hedley & Bennett Crossback Apron will remain my kitchen companion through many evolutions in my body and baking. So much better than putting up with neck pain.
This article was edited by Catherine Kast and Marguerite Preston.
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Katie Okamoto
Katie Okamoto is an editor on the discovery team and leads Wirecutter’s sustainability coverage. She has been covering products—from food to furniture—and their intersections with environmental impact and environmental health for more than a decade. Previously, Katie was an editor at Metropolis Magazine.
Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time).