Over the last weeks I’ve received about five emails from a man named Omar Cunningham, a representative of public relations firm Mannfolk. The pitch is for Period Undies, which are apparently underwear that “provide a comfortable layer of extra protection at the height of your menstrual cycle.”

Really? Those are necessary?

Necessary enough to launch a new business off of? I truly thought I was being punked, but apparently these padded panties are for real. Omar got back to me–Period Panties have been featured on The Tyra Banks Show. We don’t typically run personal hygiene stories here on Fashionista–not even in the beauty section–but I truly am curious. (PS, you’re supposed to wear them in conjunction with a tampon or pad. Not in lieu of.)

Would you use these? Are these the next Spanx? Am I just being a prude?


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Comments [33]

this and the diva cup are quite the new thing in period wear

pass. isn't the point of traditional period-wear to protect your undies? and who would want to throw those in with the regular wash…gross!

Why is it gross? You’ve never had pad/tampon failure with your underwear where some gets on the side or up the back? Didn’t you wash those, or you just throw out every pair of stained undies?
You wear these just in case you leak through your pad or tampon, at least it won’t go through to your clothes. Haven’t you ever thought you were finished, didn’t wear a panty liner, then, d***, a mess. This product saves you from that. Best invention since Always came out with ‘wings’. I wish I had invented it myself.

The Diva Cup? Amazing.

What the heck is the diva cup??

Agree with Beth. The magic of modern feminine hygiene products is that you can throw them AWAY! This literally was invented like 100 years ago….and disappeared after adhesive pads were invented in the '70s.

This is not even new, I saw them in Spain at Women's Secret like a year ago, and thought the same “totally pointless”

Wait, are you supposed to wear them WITHOUT a tampon or pad? Because if so, that's nasty.

They've had these in Japan forever and I've worn them ever since I started getting my period! They're underwear that's lined with a non-leak material. You wear them with a pad or tampon and it helps prevents leaks. I just feel safer wearing them I guess? I always wondered why they don't sell them here, guess someone beat me to it.

this thingie sounds wierd….:-s

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Ummm… ew. I mean, don't get me wrong. I guess I understand the point behind the underwear; nobody wants to be the girl with the red stain on the back of her jeans. But there are, ahem, less disgusting ways of going about that. If you're really scared of leaks, wear a tampon and a pad together, and change them frequently. Duh.

I don’t know about you guys, but I wear pads and tampons and still need these panties. If I understand them correctly, I wear it with my always w/ wings : ) Sounds cool! Gotta try em.

its an insertable little cup. i haven't tried it but it is eco friendly i guess. i just don't want to see them being washed in communal sinks..

do you know about the diva cup? i am not that brave yet..

Duh, it has been around forever. It's not a padded panty! This company brought it to the U.S. so we don't have to be embarrassed. My friends couldn't believe these panties weren't sold in stores years ago and were happy to find this company when they saw it on Tyra. We all can't imagine not wearing them.

Well, I can see how they'd be nice if you're like me and have super heavy periods where you have to change every single hour – and cannot use tampons because they're too painful and can't use birth control either.

But maybe they should consider a name change because obviously Period Panties is a turn off.

Re: the diva cup… Think about the amount of feminine hygiene products that end up in landfills every year. We should be thinking about environmentally friendly solutions and get past the ick factor. The diva cup may seem a little intimidating/uncomfortable, but what about reusable cloth pads? We should be getting into this more, especially when lots of pads and tampons make use of synthetic materials and plastic, bleach the fibres to give them that white “clean” appearance, and there's also the waste in terms of packaging.

Apparently you're suppose to wear them with. It's just an extra layer of protection.

Why not just redesign the pad then? I don't use tampons and I don't care if it becomes the only option, I am NOT using a diva cup. (Also known as a moon cup, BTW.)

I'm pro-Diva Cup! You don't need to wash them in a communal sink unless you are away from a private sink for, like, 24 hours. Seriously, those things WORK (and they're so clean and environmentally friendly. I really like mine!)

i have heard nothing but good things about that diva cup. no landfill garbage. on etsy they sell reusable fabric pads, but unless you have your own personal washer/dryer that is a hard sell

diva cup=pimp cup. just kidding. where's rashy?

Just wear some old, grandma looking panties instead

I have underwear of similar concept that I use that time of the month, stops unexpected embarrassing moments.

I will have to agree with one of the comments above. Wearing this without tampons or sanitary pads would really be nasty. Squishy, squishy! Eeewww!

Again, reading what's written, you're suppose to wear them WITH pads and tampons. For when those two fail you and start to overflow.

Think of it like having more then one dam at a river.

I love these! I watched Tyra Banks and bought a pair-they work great, I have heavy periods and can’t wear tampons, so these saved my sheets at night. I used to have to pad the back of my pad with tissues because I would leak laying down at night, these keep me from staining. They’re amazing.
Give them a try before dissing a product you obviously haven’t used

Ugh! It is NOT a padded panty, Lauren. It’s a regular cotton bikini, you can’t even see the protective layer, you wear your pad with it. I wear it a few days before I’m supposed to get my period, just in case it comes early, at least you’re not going to ruin your outfit. Thank God I wore it on the plane when I didn’t have a change with me, by the time I got off the pad was saturated, everything was a mess, but nothing had leaked!!! Go period panties!!! (but, okay, maybe a cooler name would help)

I don’t think you really need them when you use tampons or pad.
maby its comfortable but the only question in my mind right now is “WHY?”

Because some of us need extra protection.

I don’t use tampons because they are way too painful to use. Like shoving a stick covered in cotton soaked in napalm inside me. I refuse to use the diva cup. So I have to wear pads and for the first four days I have to wear TWO pads – one night time, and one regular – all day long. These are ones with wings and those centers that are suppose to draw everything towards the middle AND dry-weave. These panties are perfect for someone like me who has an extremely heavy period. (And birth control is out of the picture too. Raises my blood pressure and turns me into a raging beast.)

My only question is do they come in granny panties style. I HATE bikinis with a passion, too uncomfortable on the hips. I like briefs that come about two inches above the belly button and low on the legs. I even buy two sizes bigger then what I need in order to get even more coverage.

Okay, I read a post a little further down about wearing them at night, and
now I'm thinking they may not be as gross as I'd originally thought. I
mean, I'd rather have the stuff end up on the panties than on my satin
sheets. Touche.

I like the idea. One problem I have with pads is chafing after a while, and tampons always seem to overflow no matter how super absorbent they are. I can't be constantly running to the bathroom being a Wal-Mart people greeter.

I wouldn't mind trying the panties if they are to be worn as panties with pads etc. If you have to wear them in addition…BULK EXTRA LAYERS AND POINTLESS. I'm going to try it and let you guys know what I think. As for the Diva Cup. You can have that. No Ma'am