Cooking Season is Upon Us: Here Are The Best Chef’s Aprons You Can Buy This Fall

Aprons – even expensive ones – are still cheaper than clothes.

As we enter the Fall 2025 Cooking Season, we anticipate the fragrant and cozy months to come. What we don’t necessarily anticipate (until it’s too late) is the inevitable: Exploding soups, spattered oil, foofy flour, splatters of tomato sauce…

As my friend John said when I dumped an entire 5Qt Dutch Oven of Coq Au Vin into the back of his oven “It’s called cooking” – and it comes with the territory.

Here are the best aprons money can buy in 2025.

There are a lot of aprons on the market, and frankly, just about any one of them will do the job. Still, not all aprons are created equal.

Here are some of our favorites:

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Most Ergonomic: The ecoZen Lifestyle Professional Grade Chef Apron

This was my go-to apron for years. It’s fairly durable, machine washable, and eco friendly

What’s To Love About It:

• Unique shoulder harness positions the apron perfectly for maximum comfort. It’s not a crossback, and it’s not a traditional bib apron either; it’s it’s own thing. The upper strap is made of stretchy material, so it holds the harness in place perfectly
• The buckle in the back (more on this later) means no tying – just set it and forget it
• Multiple pockets and a towel loop are positioned perfectly
• At under $30 (as of this posting), it’s a hard-to-beat price point

What’s Not

• The material is relatively durable, but starts to fray after a few washes. I get maybe a year out of each of these before I have to replace it
• It only comes in black, which is kind of boring – and oddly, shows wear pretty easily

Check the Price on Amazon

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Best Apron Money Can Buy: hedley & bennett Essential Apron

Don’t hate me – I know. These aprons are everywhere on social media, and whomever it is that does their marketing is a f*cking genius. They’re expensive, and Alton Brown, Kenji Lopez-Alt, Nancy Silverton, and every chef worth their… er… salt… seems to be wearing one.

That said, in my opinion, they actually are worth the hype – and the price point.

What’s To Love About It

• The material is durable as hell, and both spot cleans and machine washes back to new in no time
• The straps are super high quality, and are generous enough in their length to accommodate all body types
• Not overly complex in terms of features, but the loops and pockets are exactly where you need them
• They come in all kinds of colors, which are totally rad – and they also do awesome collabs. Grateful Dead Dancing Bears apron, anyone?

What’s Not

• The price point is a bit off-putting: It’s hard to imagine spending $100 on an apron. Still, it’s cheaper than replacing your clothes and for the quality, it’s probably the only apron you’ll ever need to buy.

Check the Price on Amazon or Visit Their Website Directly to see all the awesome options

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Most Rugged: ecoZen 16oz Waxed Canvas Work Apron

Another win from ecoZen, this apron is designed more as a general “work apron” or “shop apron” – but it performs admirably in more aggressive cooking situations: think smoking barbeque over live fire, deep frying a turkey… you know, that kind of thing.

What’s to Love About It

• It’s rugged and durable as all get out, and can handle anything you throw it it – flying cinders, spattering oil, exploding sauces – whatever you can think of, this apron can protect you from it
• It’s a great price-point: Again, at around $45 (as of this posting), it’s hard to beat
• It’s got ample pockets for all kinds of tools (just in case you decide you need to replace your roof or build a cabinet while your 15lb pork-butt is smoking on the smoker)

What’s Not

• It’s heavy – the shoulder straps make it possible to wear for extended periods, but still, it can start to drag a bit after a few hours
• It’s stiff – so your range of motion might be a bit constricted while wearing it
• It’s not machine washable – due to the wax coating (which is actually great), it’s a spot-clean only type of situation

Check the Price on Amazon

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Best Price Point: Folded Steel Chef Apron

This one is the clear runner-up to hedley & bennett in terms of a great, high-quality, durable chef apron. Normally priced at $100 (comparable to H&B), as of this posting, they’re on sale for only $35, so maybe snag one while you can.

What’s To Love About It

• The design and construction of the apron itself is either on par with – or just barely below – the same quality as H&B
• Dual towel loops accommodate both lefties and righties, or allow you to use one ‘wet’ towel and one ‘dry’ towel on your apron
• Colors are limited, but the ones they do have are pretty neat

What’s Not

• The straps are noticeably softer and thinner than H&B – still, they are of generous length and get the job done just fine
• Who knows how long they’ll be available – hopefully they’ll keep making them, but they sure do make cool stuff

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Best Basic Apron: Chef Works Unisex Dorset Bib Apron

Chef Works makes pretty good stuff in general, and this apron is no exception. Rugged and durable, this apron feels more like a well-loved, hard-working pair of jeans than it does an apron.

What’s To Love

• Soft, yet super durable material
• Looks cool
• Highly utilitarian – gets the job done

What’s Not

• Straps are kind of short, so may be a challenge for bigger-bodied folks
• Machine washable – but needs to be ironed or laid flat to dry
• No towel loop, pockets are oddly positioned

Check the Price on Amazon

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Best All Around Apron: Reluctant Threads Classic Bib Apron

Another solid runner-up to H&B, Reluctant Threads makes a very nice quality product. One of their social media advertising slogans is “I love paying for overpriced high quality aprons, said no one ever” – so it’s clear who they’re after. If Folded Steel stops making aprons, and you don’t want to pay for H&B, this is the way to go for sure.

What’s To Love

• Durable, cotton-canvas material can take a lot of abuse and will last a long time
• Straps are long enough to accommodate different body types
• Comes in lots of cool colors (and 2-tone!)
• Reluctant Threads offers generous bulk discounts

What’s Not

• For whatever reason, the neck strap hangs just a little tightly around my neck. Could just be me; everyone’s different
• Material is just slightly thinner than H&B or Folded Steel
• No towel loop

Buy Directly from Reluctant Threads

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So, there you have it – The Intrepid Gourmet’s recommendations for Aprons to get you through the Fall/Holiday Cooking Season! What are your favorites? Leave some comments in the section below!