Packet of 10 Dr. White's looped towels

Packet of 10 Dr. White's looped towels, size 2, for medium to heavy menstruation, by Lilia White Ltd., 1985

Before self-adhesive menstrual pads entered the market around 1970, pads were secured with belts. Comprised of elastic, these were worn around the waist with tabs or hooks at the front and back for attaching a sanitary towel between the legs. The garments all but disappeared when new 'beltless' pads Stayfree and New Freedom – which could be adhered directly to underwear – were launched. But some consumers preferred to stick with what they knew, as this packet of towels with loops for attaching to a belt from 1985 demonstrates.