The Masonic Apron

"Whatever may be the future advancement of the candidate in the 'Royal Art,' into whatever deeper arcana his devotion to the mystic institution or his thirst for knowledge may carry him, with the apron—his first investiture—he never parts."

Albert G. Mackey
The Symbolism of Freemasonry

"From the particular secrets with which we are entrusted and the ancient clothing with which we are invested we secure the privileges of confraternity; rank as brethren of one family; and act in unison for the general will: thus from the clothing we bear we stamp our real value as members of one household."

Apprentice Lecture, 1772
William Preston