Quick saddle question. (bare with me I'm a newbie to touring)

I was wondering about the function of the side apron on a saddle. I see most people who tour tend to have the side aprons where racing saddles do not. Is it strictly visual, a product quality thing or is there a function to it?

I recently put the velo orange model 6 (no aprons) on my bike. I choose it over the model 3 (with aprons) because even on long rides I seem to prefer a slightly narrower saddle (20mm difference) and I felt the look of it better suited my taste. The thought never occurred to me till looking more at photos on this site that the aprons may have a significant purpose.

Tradition

Its just how it has been done for 100 years, in Leather saddles.

lol well at least i got the leather part right

good question, as fiets says, it makes sense that it comes from leather saddles, as it makes sense from a manufacturing pt of view-the piece of leather is cut out flat and then shaped to the shape of the final seat. The side parts give structural support to the top flat part of the saddle.

kwmcd, The 'aprons' maybe better suited to street clothes? Just a SWAG.

Brad

My guess is that it reduces chafe on the inside of the thigh to a degree. On my Brooks B17 I had to further reduce the flare by drilling holes in the skirt and lacing it up similar to the imperial. It works well, less chafe during a long ride.