See how a woman wore the suspenders above clothing using open-crotch underpants. See belts that hold pads
See how a woman wore a belt in a Dutch ad. See a classy 1920s ad for a belt and the first ad (1891) MUM has for a belt.
See how women wore a belt (and in a Swedish ad). See a modern belt for a washable pad and a page from the 1946-47 Sears catalog showing a great variety.
More ads for napkin belts: Sears, 1928 - modern belts - modern washable - Modess, 1960s
Actual belts in the museum
More ads for napkin belts: Sears, 1928 - modern belts - modern washable - Modess, 1960s
Actual belts in the museum
See the Kotex stick tampon.
See also a Saba Ad, Pursettes ad, Kotex "Are you in the know?" ads (1949)(1953)(1964), Ads for Teens, and some older Kotex ads
And, of course, the first Tampax AND - special for you! - the American fax tampon, from the early 1930s, which also came in bags.
See a Modess True or False? ad in The American Girl magazine, January 1947, and actress Carol Lynley in "How Shall I Tell My Daughter" booklet ad (1955) - Modess . . . . because ads (many dates).
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepageMUM address & What does MUM mean? | e-mail the museum | privacy on this site | who runs this museum?? |
Amazing women! | the art of menstruation | artists (non-menstrual) | asbestos | belts | bidets | founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | books: menstruation and menopause (and reviews) | cats | company booklets for girls (mostly) directory | contraception and religion | costumes | menstrual cups | cup usage | dispensers | douches, pain, sprays | essay directory | extraction | facts-of-life booklets for girls | famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | founder/director biography | gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux | humor | huts | links | masturbation | media coverage of MUM | menarche booklets for girls and parents | miscellaneous | museum future | Norwegian menstruation exhibit | odor | olor | pad directory | patent medicine | poetry directory | products, current | puberty booklets for girls and parents | religion | Religión y menstruación | your remedies for menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety | science | Seguridad de productos para la menstruación | shame | slapping, menstrual | sponges | synchrony | tampon directory | early tampons | teen ads directory | tour of the former museum (video) | underpants & panties directory | videos, films directory | Words and expressions about menstruation | Would you stop menstruating if you could? | What did women do about menstruation in the past? | washable pads
Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación.

Ads and patents for suspenders to hold menstrual pads (U.S.A., late 19th century) (Non-menstrual suspenders ads here.)

Women seem to have always had problems getting their menstrual gear to work comfortably and problem-free - just think of today - but they must praise the day tampons and cups appeared when they look at "the most convenient article for ladies' use ever known," the menstrual pad suspenders right below.

Belts for pads seem to have been truly unreliable to inspire this device, but not unreliable enough to prevent its extinction. I have seen no advertisements for suspenders after the very early 20th century.

As for "Bandage Suspender," in the ad right below: bandage manufacturers - Johnson & Johnson (Modess) and Kimberly-Clark (Kotex) in America, and Paul Hartmann (Mulpa, WWs, etc.) in Germany (and perhaps elsewhere), to name three - found it profitable to make menstrual pads. But "bandage" can also reinforce the pathological feeling about menstruation, even though menstrual blood and tissue do spring from a kind of wound inside the uterus that heals naturally.


Brochure from the 1870s advertising a suspender menstrual supporter.

Text of the ad, starting under the title:
In adjusting the Suspender, place the long strap at the back [see why here]; the short strap in front has our [?] on the under side of it, the point of the hook or holder being outward.
Catch the end of the bandage in the hook, [?] the point of the hook under the guard. It is a perfect safety fastening and can not be displaced.


No. 36 for ladies whose bust measure is less than 36 inches.


No. 40 for ladies whose bust measure is less than 40 inches.
No. 44 for ladies whose bust measure is more than 40 inches.
It can be used with any bandage a lady may wear; suspending the same from the shoulders; and is attached to the bandage, both front and back, by means of our New Improved Safety Skirt and Bandage Holder.
This Suspender is the most convenient article for ladies' use ever known [advertisers' exaggerations have a long history]. Every lady knows the inconvenience and annoyance it gives them to suspend the bandage in the old way, with a string or band around the waist, as well as the uncertainty of its holding the bandage at all. Our Improved Bandage Suspender will hold the bandage exactly in place, will hold it securely, is easily adjustable, and will give [?][?] relief to the wearer than any thing else she may use for the purpose. They can be washed as easily as any under-garment without removing the hooks and slides.
No body will be with out one when she has once tried it or seen it used.
They are sold by our Lady Agents at 60 cents.
QUEEN CITY SUSPENDER COMPANY
Sole Proprietors and Manufacturers for the United States and Canadas[sic?]
No. 179 Main Street, [?] Cincinnati, O.
AGENTS WANTED
I added to the drawing some lines lost in reproduction. 
Brochure reproduced from
"Menstrual technology in the United States, 1854 to 1921," by Laura Klosterman Kidd, 1994 (Ph.D. dissertation)
Brochure courtesy of L. Bellais



Below: U.S. patent No. 463, 819, 1891, granted to Annie Willoughby.
The trough holds absorbent material, sometimes wood shavings ("wood wool").
Below: The suspenders at left, simplified, worn under all clothing.
A woman could wear the suspenders above her underclothing wearing the era's open (crotchless) underpants - see here

 

 

 


 

The drawing at above left - I added some lines to replace those lost in reproduction, and the word "bag" and the two pointing lines - shows how the suspenders sat on the woman's shoulders to support the pad, or in this case, a bag hanging between her legs that collects the menses. Eliza Kerwin created this patent No. 514, 717, granted in 1894.
See how a woman wore the suspenders above clothing using open-crotch underpants.
Reproduced from
"Menstrual technology in the United States, 1854 to 1921," by Laura Klosterman Kidd, 1994 (Ph.D. dissertation)

See belts that hold pads, ads for non-menstrual suspenders and how women wore the menstrual suspenders.

© 2000 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute any of the work on this Web site in any manner or
medium without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org