An argument for petal swim caps – why I love them! It might not be obvious to some of you, but I really adore old-fashioned swim caps! Particularly the colorful flower petal variety! But why?
Swim caps were made of rubberized fabric during the early 20th century. By the 1920s, they were made of latex. The earliest chin strap caps were known as “aviator’s style caps” as they resembled the strapped leather helmets of flyers of the day. During the 1940s, swim caps became scarce as rubber was needed for war materials. The ‘permanent wave’ hairstyle took time to obtain and was expensive, so many women wanted to protect their hair while swimming. The 1950s saw decorated caps come into vogue, and during the 1960s colorful flower petal swim caps became popular. Without swim cap requirements, wearing swim caps fell out of fashion during the 1970s. Swim caps are available in different styles, traditional chin strap type with inner sealing to keep out water and colourful floral styles reminiscent of the 1960s as well as other graphic prints. (source. Wikipedia.org)
So apart from looking c’est chic, they do serve an actual purpose. Not only making sure hair stays dry(ish), but also in keeping a nice warm head! Women with long hair know how long it takes for wet hair to dry, so why not just pull on a fashionable petal swim cap and avoid all of that bother after a fun day at the beach or pool?
It’s all about feelings…
Whereas normal undecorated swim caps may look sleek and sporty, pretty flower petal caps are an absolute joy to touch and feel. The soft rubbery petals slip through the fingers with an addictive tickling sensation. The way the little rubber petals move in a light breeze, delightful. As she dives underwater the pressure pushes the cap tightly to her head. Finally reaching the surface and ripping off the glistening rubber cap to reveal her radiant hair. Glamorous, feminine and sexy.
Taking it up a level!
So how about a full head and face petal swim cap? Obviously it’s in no way practical. Any girl wearing it would be unable to see or breathe (unless there is a little hole for her to suck in some air), but that could be fun!? So with this in mind, I commissioned a one of a kind petal swim cap in rose pink. OK, this might not be to everybody’s taste, but I found the results striking and alluring.
So how did the lucky lady in the smooth-skin wetsuit, rubber riding boots and, with her head fully enveloped in tight rubbery petals find the experience? Very HOT! She couldn’t see a thing, barely hear anything and as for breathing; short of breath would be an understatement. So as an experiment it was jolly good fun, but I am sadly not expecting to see this bizarre combination down at the beach or pool any day soon.
In conclusion
So there you have it, vintage rubber flower petal swim caps. I can’t get enough of them and now you know why! I would love to hear your thoughts on swim caps, are you for or against? Please leave me a comment below.
Man’s Favorite Sport features a couple of swim cap wearing Frogwomen.
One reply on “An Argument for Petal Swim Caps”
Do you love or loathe swim caps? Leave a comment and intimate your thoughts on the great swim cap debate 🙂