Crazy Double-Faced Swimming Caps of the Late 1950s

These vintage crazy swimming caps were invented by a Long Island housewife, Betty Geib, to amuse her children. After they flew off the rack at a church bazaar, she started a new business, Betty Darling, selling her wares for $3 to $6.

The caps featured indeed funny masklike faces and motifs including a sea serpent, a black cat, and a sunflower, decorating the back of the head and creating a fun effect when you saw a wearer donning one.

(Photos by Ralph Crane / The LIFE Picture Collection)

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