Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Hangers: The Basics and Beyond

huggable hangers in closet
Since I seem to be writing a closet series, I figured I might as well finish up with hangers.

You can find lots of advice about which hangers are best, from:
- The Container Store
- Oprah
- Real Simple (all types of hangers)
- Real Simple (pants hangers)
- Wirecutter

Wood hangers, basic plastic tubular hangers, plastic hangers with the swivel neck, and Joy Mangano huggable hangers (or similar products) all have their fans.

A variation on the wood hanger is the B Green Bamboo Hanger, which I learned about from fellow organizer Victoria Roberts.

If you want something a bit out of the ordinary, here are some options - many for children's clothes, but not all.


wooden hangers, child and adjult size, with adornment

These charming hangers from The Small Object were recommended by two people on Apartment Therapy. Update on Jan. 9, 2019: The Small Object is no longer selling these hangers.


childen's hangers with teddy bears

These teddy bear hangers from The Laundry have a somewhat similar look. Update on Jan. 9, 2019: I'm no longer finding these hangers.


3 child's hangers, with pictures of a frog, a turtle, and a snake

Ladybug Art has a selection of decorative hangers for both children and adults - and dogs.


unique hanger shaped like doll or person

And these hangers from Tatty Bumpkin are so creative and intriguing that I just had to share them! A bee and a frog version are also available. Tatty Bumpkin is in the U.K.; these hangers are also sold in the U.S. by Zia & Tia. Update on Jan. 9, 2019: Tatty Bumpkin is no longer selling these hangers.

[photo of Huggable Hangers from Improvements Catalog]

Jan. 9, 2019: Updated to include link to Wirecutter.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Jeri,

I have a question regarding hangers, and I can't believe I'm the first one to ever have this dilemma...my 8 year old's clothes are too small for the child-size hangers, yet standard hangers are too large for her clothes and make ridges in the shoulders. Although I haven't made a project out of researching and finding "in-between" hangers, I have looked in the hanger section in chain stores (Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target) and they have nothing. My daughter has a small dresser and a large closet with 2 rods, and I am not ready to commit to an expensive closet organizing system that might not fit her needs as she gets older. Her closet is large enough for all of her clothes, and she is able to hang easier than she could fold, so I do not want to resort to shelves for her clothes. This is why I am interested in the hangers. Any suggestions?

Jeri Dansky said...

Hi Ejpk,

There are indeed in-between size hangers. Here are a couple options:
Teen/Tot shirt/dress hanger
Tweens/Juniors hangers

There are also adjustable hangers. (Also available here.)

Calgary7 said...

Jeri, I think you missed the best hangers by far -- wooden hangers from IKEA in the BUMERANG series.

There are three types
1) traditional bent wood type used for hanging shirts, jackets, and other "tops". The wood is light in colour and is finished but not slippery so I can hang my silks. The cost of eight hangers is $5.99 Cnd. I find that using the wooden hangers prevents crushing of my clothes so I rarely have to iron.

2) there are wooden hangers with metal clips for hanging skirts, shorts, scarves. The cost is 99 cents each.

3) finally there are wooden hangers designed to secure pants at the hem. These are absolutely the best invention going. I use these to not only hang my pants but also to hang my table cloths and other linens, fabric lengths purchased for hobbies etc. The cost of the BUMERANG pants hanger is 99cents Cnd. The quality of the construction is unbelievable. I've never had anything slip through (a common occurrence on other hangers that I have tried).

My apologies to readers from other countries. I access the IKEA website frequently so it defaults to the Canadian site: www.ikea.ca

I believe that the American URL is www.ikea.com. Unfortunately I do not know whether these products are carried internationally you will need to check your country IKEA website.

Jeri great blog. Keep up the terrific work.

Calgary

Jeri Dansky said...

Laurie,

Thanks for commenting! I'm glad you enjoy my blog.

I mentioned wood hangers, but didn't mention any specific vendor. I'm glad to know the IKEA hangers have worked so well for you. The BUMERANG hangers are indeed available in the U.S., but I haven't checked other countries.

Anonymous said...

Just purchased some huggable hangers to go w/my new travel garmet bag- love that they are light weight AND the clothes won't slip off during a handling.

Jeri Dansky said...

Krista, I don't use a garment bag - but I do often pack a few hangers when I travel. I'll have to consider using Huggable Hangers in the future.