Swim Cap ad from the July 1, 1949 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine
Swim Caps
I recently spotted a vintage swim cap at a flea market. The bright blue color caught my eye. It was probably from the 1950s and was in its original packaging. I contemplated purchasing it and using it as decor for our pool house. While holding the swim cap, I was wondering just how many people still use swim caps these days – other than professional swimmers. This led me to think about the Summer Olympics that will be starting soon, so I thought it would be interesting to look at the history of the swim cap. (How’s that for a roundabout segue into this article?!) Let’s take a look!
Did you know?
Swim caps were used even before the 1800s! The caps were basically just hairnets used to hold hair up and out of the water. Later, taffeta fabric was waxed and then used as swim caps.
When rubber was invented, the swim caps of the late 1880s were made of rubber and were often covered with fabric embellishments to make them look more fashionable.
In the 1920s through 1940s, women wore swim caps at beaches and public pools as a fashion accessory, and plain rubber swim caps were used by professional swimmers.
In the 1950s, swim caps were often more decorated and had textures to the rubber. Fun floral swim caps were all the rage in the 1960s.
By the late 1960s / early 1970s, swim caps started to fall out of fashion. By this time, swim caps were still worn by people at public pools if they had long hair, and by professional swimmers.
Professional swimmers from the 1980s to today still wear swim caps, but the caps are not very popular with casual swimmers.
Of course, the swimmers at the Summer Olympics this year will be wearing swim caps as a functional accessory. Swim caps protect the swimmers hair from the chemicals in a pool, and also help to reduce drag while swimming. The swim caps of today are made of silicone, latex, lycra or neoprene. It’s too bad they don’t have the plastic flowers [grin].
While most casual swimmers today don’t wear swim caps, there are still plenty of uses for the vintage variety…
5 Unique Uses for Vintage Swim Caps
Now that you know a little bit of history about the swim cap, what do you do with a vintage swim cap? Of course you could still use them for their intended purposes, but here are some other fun and clever uses:
- Use them to decorate a pool house! Just hang one or more vintage swim caps on the wall for a fun and whimsical look.
- If the swim cap is ripped, cut it into 6″ circles to make handy grips for opening jars in your kitchen. Just put the circle over the lid of a jar and twist!
- Use them as snack bowls at a pool party! Place a round shaped bowl, such as a fish bowl, inside the swim cap, then use the bowl to serve snacks at your next pool party! TIP: Round fish bowls are usually very inexpensive at pet supply stores.
- Use a swim cap as a hanging planter! Really! Poke a few small holes in the top of the swim cap to allow water to drain. Turn the swim cap upside down, fill with potting soil and your favorite annuals, then – using the chin strap for the cap, hang the planter on your deck or patio. Swim cap hanging baskets also look great hanging around a pool!
- Turn a swim cap into a portable (and pool safe) ice bucket! Just fill the swim cap with ice, insert your favorite bottled beverage and hang out at the pool with a cool drink! When the ice melts, you’ll have cold water you can use to cool yourself off. Now that’s fun!
Who knew they went back that far? I’ve always loved swim caps. But never could figure out how your hair would look all that great after having been smashed in one and with a sweaty head. I have a vague recollection of wearing a swim cap as a child. Pretty sure I didn’t do it more than a time or two, though. Wish I still had my mom’s.
Fun post, JD! It brings back lots of memories because as kids and teens in the 1960s and 1970s, we HAD to wear swim caps in pools — especially if you had long hair. Supposedly, any hair that fell out while you were in the pool would clog the filter, so swim caps were required. We always hated wearing them though — especially when the boys were around 🙂
I wore swim caps with a strap when I was young. But I spent a LOT of time in the water and also diving from a board, and I can tell you they were NEVER water tight! Water always leaked in. So I really don’t know why casual swimmers used them at all (unless they were the types who went carefully into the water and mainly kept their heads above the water).
I was born in the early forties, so I well remember bathing caps worn by women at the pool. I wondered why this practice ended and suspected the widespread use of the handheld blow dryer in the mid-sixties. Washing and drying hair became easy. Who agrees with me?