AMUSE BOUCHE- ANNA MICHELLE WANG

By Sara Faith Alterman

Looking fabulous in the kitchen has never been so easy! Whether you're toiling over a hot stove or frantically trying to conduct an orchestra of culinary multitasks, the designs of Anna Wang will keep you looking calm, cool, and collected. Emphasis on 'cool'. For her label, "Kitsch'n Glam", Wang crafts kicky aprons with bold colors and feminine modernity that boast that rare balance of function and style. Inspired in part by the fashions of the past, partly by the trends of today, these aprons will transform any woman (or man! There's a line of aprons that's just for him...) into a domestic goddess. Don't believe us? See for yourself at

NAC: How do you decide on materials, colors, and patterns for your collection? WANG:  I always look for a range of themes and styles. Most of my prints are either modern/graphic, fruity, floral, or with animals. Most of the time, I look for prints that make me happy, that I know my customer will like. I choose colors depending on what I don't already have in my existing line and try to incorporate new, unique color combinations. NAC: Do people actually use these in the kitchen, or just for fashion?  They seem too beautiful to cook in!. WANG: My aprons are for feeling beautiful! Whether it be in the kitchen, part of an outfit worn out in everyday life... anywhere! They're great conversation starters when people are entertaining; a figure-flattering garment to make any mundane task a happy experience, like a piece of jewelry or a handbag.  Another way for someone to express her personality. NAC: Are the styles influenced by traditional apron patterns?  From what eras? WANG: I have over 8 different body styles which are brand new patterns influenced by the 40s and 50s, but with a modern twist! I like to think my aprons are a reinterpretation of a classic. They're designed to be like dresses but without the backs!

NAC: If you could custom-design an apron for anyone in the world, who would it be and what would it look like? WANG: I'd love to design aprons for people who are making a difference in the world. People who are serving and feeding those less fortunate than myself. An apron that is beautiful, useful, and tied with gratitude. NAC: Aprons, especially in the US, tend to be associated with the 1950s.  What do you do to take the apron out of the 50s and give it modern flair? WANG: The fabric prints of kitsch*n glam aprons are definitely modern with some echos of a vintage look; but the clean lines, bold graphics, and colors I choose make the aprons POP! Another modern quality of my aprons is that they flatter all different body types. I have a ruffle apron that draws attention upward and de-emphasizes the waist and hips, a halter style apron which accentuates the waist, and a full-figured apron that celebrates her shape. NAC: Finally, what does YOUR apron look like?  What do you wear in the kitchen? WANG: My aprons are like my children, and I love them all equally. When it comes to choosing one to wear, I wear the ones that are less popular, ones that don't fly off the shelves as quickly, that I still love and believe in. As a busy entrepreneur, I'm rarely in the kitchen, but my fiance prepares food all the time. When he cooks, he wears a kitsch*n glam meadow man apron.