Swimming cap
Maker
Kleinert's
(1869)
Date1950s
Object number00039525
NameCap
MediumRubber
Dimensions190 x 220 mm, 0.2 kg
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis pink rubber swimming cap is decorated with a layer of appliquéd cut out rubber flowers. Made in the United Kingdom in the 1950s, the cap was worn to both accessorise with a swimsuit and protect the swimmer’s hair from the water.HistorySwimming caps were primarily made of rubberised fabric by the 1950s when decorated caps had come into vogue. During the 1960s swimming caps increased in popularity and were often designed by milliners. Swimming caps became brightly coloured, appliquéd with flowers or ribbons, or moulded into shapes.SignificanceThe cap is representative of beach and pool fashions from the 1950s.
