Ever since Alice fell down the rabbit hole in her white pinafore, aprons have been something of a fashion statement.
自从爱丽丝(Alice)身穿白色围裙掉进兔子洞，围裙就变成了某种时尚宣言。
That bib was her most identifiable accessory, a signpost of the seductive tension between traditional girlhood and rebellion, as embodied by the character herself.
那件围裙是她最显眼的配饰，是传统的少女期和叛逆期之间诱人张力的标志，而这个人物正是这种张力的典型代表。

This year is the 150th anniversary of the Lewis Carroll classic “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” And as “The Alice Look,” a new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood in London, illustrates, the fashion world has been obsessed by her style ever since the book was published.
今年是刘易斯·卡罗尔(Lewis Carroll)的经典之作《爱丽丝漫游仙境》(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)出版150周年。就像伦敦的维多利亚与艾伯特童年博物馆(Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood)的新展览“爱丽丝造型”(The Alice Look)所展示的那样，自从那本书出版之后，时尚界就迷上了她的风格。
Alice showed that an apron, like a handbag or a pair of shoes, is a highly efficient conduit of individual identity. It can transform a look and change an expectation.
爱丽丝表明，围裙就像手袋或鞋子，能非常有效地传达个人身份。它能转变一种造型，改变一种期待。
And not only on the catwalk, but also in the kitchen. No wonder we have appropriated the once-utilitarian chef’s apron as our own. It doesn’t just protect from sauce splatter, grease stains and beet juice; it also projects personality and aesthetic choice, no matter the skill level or the ambition.
不仅在秀台上，而且在厨房里。难怪我们已把曾经仅具实用功能的大厨围裙挪作己用。它不仅能防止酱汁、油点和甜菜汁溅到身上，还能表现个性和审美，不管你的烹饪水平有多高或者野心有多大。
This perhaps explains why, just as there are aprons in fashion (see the tough smithlike leather aprons and apron dresses in last February’s Fendi show and the cartoonish 1950s pinafore styles at Miu Miu), there are fashions in aprons.
这也许能解释为什么，就像时尚界有围裙一样（比如去年2月芬迪[Fendi]时装秀上的强悍铁匠风格皮质围裙和连衫围裙以及Miu Miu的20世纪50年代卡通风格围裙），围裙也有自己的时尚。
There are workmen’s aprons, which are the culinary equivalent of streetwear: hardy leather and denim or selvage numbers with grommets and pockets that telegraph a tough-chef look, the better to carve up a goat and roast its carcass. The model might be the Stanley & Sons leather lap apron ($143), or the Search & Rescue split-leg apron (about $195). It’s expensive to look so hard-core.
有些是男工围裙，相当于烹饪版的街头服饰：结实的皮料粗布围裙，或者带有扣眼和口袋的织边围裙，传达出强悍大厨的感觉，最好是穿着它宰羊烘烤。这类围裙的典型代表是Stanley & Sons的长及大腿的皮质围裙（143美元）或者Search & Rescue的分腿围裙（约195美元）。它们看起来就是基本款围裙，所以价格显得有点贵。
There are decorative sunny aprons, like the black-and-white check from MacKenzie-Childs ($78) or the diner-stripe from Kate Spade ($30), the signifiers of the playful nature of the kitchen. These are good aprons for the sweet set, and for those who are fond of giving tradition a tweak.
也有一些活泼的装饰性围裙，比如MacKenzie-Childs的黑白格围裙（78美元）或Kate Spade的餐馆条纹围裙（30美元），它们表达出厨房玩闹的一面。这些围裙非常适合甜蜜的场合或者那些喜欢稍微改变传统的人。
(Note: There is a difference between the “fun” apron and the “funny” apron — you know, the ones with naked bodies superimposed on the wearer’s body, or other sort of faux trompe l’oeil prints. The latter is a joke item, like the novelty tie, and is best avoided lest the joke be on you.)
（提示：“有趣”的围裙和“搞笑”的围裙是两回事。你知道，后者是把裸体图像通过透视叠加在穿着者身上。它们就像新奇领带，是用来搞笑的，所以最好不要穿，免得你自己变成笑柄。）
And there are tailored, minimal versions that are the culinary equivalent of, say, a Céline bag, so understated that they demand a level of connoisseurship to be understood. Think of aprons like Hedley & Bennett’s color-blocked waist-tied styles (from $40, on sale) or the Marcy Butler Italian linen V-neck Carol ($118) as a piece of tied-on sartorial semiology that reflects a fondness for both Scandinavia and the chemistry lab.
还有那种精心裁剪的极简围裙，它们相当于烹饪版的赛琳(Céline)手袋，非常朴素，理解它们需要一定程度的鉴赏力。比如，Hedley & Bennett的腰部系带色块围裙（40美元起，特价）或者Marcy Butler的意大利亚麻V领卡罗尔围裙（118美元），后者是一种裁剪符号学，反映出对斯堪的纳维亚风格和化学实验室的双重喜爱。
“Curiouser and curiouser,” as Alice might say? Not at all. You’d feel like a pretender in a chef’s toque or checkered pants, but in an apron of your own choice, you can feel like yourself. It’s simply a matter of taste. In more than one sense of the word.
这是不是像爱丽丝说的，“越来越奇怪了”？完全不是。如果戴着厨师帽或穿着厨师方格裤，你会觉得自己有点装模作样，但是如果穿着你自己挑选的围裙，你会感觉更像自己。这只是品味问题。我指的是这个词的多重含义。