As a modern woman--you are only as oppressed as you allow yourself to be. With or without an apron.
Wearing an apron, however cute it may be, does not infer that you desire to be barefoot and pregnant and without benefit of basic human rights and social equality. It is a functional garment intended to protect one's clothes while cooking. End of story. If you think the skirted or heart-shaped styles catapult you back 50 years, then make the chef's apron. Or don't make an apron at all.
People living in every "modern age" have looked back on the past through the rose-colored lenses of nostalgia and remembered only the pleasant aspects of those eras. It's easy to do and it's comforting. Remembering that those pleasant apsects were accompanied by horrendous inequities and social expectations does help to put things in perspective, though.
But seriously, this website is about sewing.

Just incredible! Truly visionary and experimental--but yielding a beautiful result.

Gorgeous! really creative. It looks amazing and must be so much fun to wear--even just to model it around a living room for photos!

I love that movie, both for the story, the actors, and the amazing, breathtaking costumes. The rose red and black gown that Glenn Close wears in a few scenes is absolutely stunning! Succulent, actually. I drool over it every time I see it.
My favorite costume movies area all period: Elizabeth, Dangerous Beauty (although they're not all historically accurate, they're beautiful and perfectly capture the fantasy world courtesans created for their clients), Dangerous Liaisons, the Emma Thompson/Kate Winlset Sense & Sensibility, 1995 BBC/A&E Pride & Prejudice, Ever After (although seriously not accurate to the film's setting--a mix of Italian and English styles from different periods in France?). The Lord of the Rings Trilogy costumes were also excellent.
I don't think Japanese paper lanterns would be sturdy enough as paniers to support any kind of skirt you might be planning--but then again, since you're working on a mermaid costume, why would you need a skirt? Probably better to go with an 18th century pair of stays.

I think I mostly fall into a different category altogether: the Planners. Those who get excited by finding great patterns, searching out the perfect material and notions, maybe even getting as far as cutting out the pattern pieces, and then getting sidetracked by another fantastic idea (or another, non-sewing-related project), and letting the original project sit on the back-burner indefinitely. This tends to be me with non-costume projects. Although there are some longer-term costume projects sitting around just waiting for me to have the time to attend to them.
I'm trying to change this approach, and last summer I was on my way. But no matter how easy a simple summer dress appears at first, there's always something that ends up taking more time than projected. Out of 5 dress projects I had planned last summer, I completed two. They're perfectly finished, but there's something slightly "off" in the fit of each. So they need tweaking to make them more wearable, and then I've accumulated EVEN MORE dress projects (patterns and fabric), and I absolutely MUST complete at least two of them this summer.
My strategy lately has been to cut out multiple patterns in one sitting, and then start off slow on one, work until it's finished, and then start on the next one. Aiming for at least one seam a night is a great strategy, and it frequently works for me. I just have to be more disciplined about working on projects each and every night. But hope lives on!

This is absolutely gorgeous! I would call this "pea green", or "asparagus," but no matter: it photographs really well despite being "goose turd green."
I'm sure being made mostly of linen makes it much more comfortable for faire-wear. The shoulder rolls are a fabulous touch!