Don't Mention It: Stylishly Stashing Your Unmentionables

When I was about eleven years old, I had my first embarrassing encounter with airport security. I stood behind my parents anxiously awaiting my bag's arrival through the scanner, praying nothing would encourage the guard to open my purple tote with neon-pink hearts (yes, it's nearly two decades later and like any self-respecting girly-girl, I remember which bag I was carrying). As I reached to grab my tote from the conveyor belt, the guard got to it first and began to unzip it - and I ran.

Ignoring my parents' panicked faces, I tried to get as far away from the embarrassing contents of my bag as possible. I was at an age that Britney Spears may describe as being "not a girl, not yet a woman," and it was not the prospect of airport security finding my teddy bear, but rather a stash of unused maxi pads that I had not so cleverly wrapped in toilet paper, that made me run for the hills. Plain maxi pads in my bag would have been bad enough, but the fact that they were wrapped in toilet paper made the situation appear far, far worse.

Fortunately, such a situation has not happened again. But as airport security worldwide gets tighter, the the odds are higher that your bag will get searched. Every time I go through the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, my bags and I are given the third degree - often leaving the contents on display for travelers all around me. As I have another trip to Israel coming up in a few weeks, I'm on the lookout for a cute and functional way of hiding bras and panties from prying eyes.

But let's start with the other kind of unmentionables that humiliated me all those years ago. Pads are easy to stash in a small cosmetic bag, but tampons are a bit trickier. Here are some stylish options:

These cute cases are from Hippy Chix Shop.

These stewardess, cowgirl, and beach babe cases from Uncommon Goods will hide your femme products.




Customize your own case at http://www.kyledesigns.com/

To hide away your silky (or cottony) little (or big) things, here are the best that I've found.

I love this set from Pack Happy, which includes three bags for lingerie, shoes, and dirty laundry. I've found the best price at Traveling Chic, and am waiting for this color scheme to be restocked (there are other colors available now).

I am VERY happy to have stumbled upon Lapin Vilardi. The two friends who created this line of travel accessories have great taste, and their bags and cases would liven up any set of luggage. Each pattern has several pieces including lingerie, shoe, and laundry bags. Here are my favorites:

I'm a fan of Belle-Hop's feminine travel accessories, including this lingerie wrapper:

Good to Be You has both sexy and sweet bags:

Please don't make the mistake I did at age eleven - seek out something cute to hide your unmentionables and spare yourself embarrassment in the security line!