Les Idées Nouvelles

Early modern swim caps looked like aviator helmets; they had chin straps to hold them in place. By the roaring '20s, the invention of latex had led to the making of stretchier swimcaps that fit right in with the styles of the day, considering head-hugging cloches were very popular. Swim caps were actually required at many pools for the first half of the 20th century to keep women’s long hair from clogging up the drain.