Garment hangers: The importance of hangers in garment care

“Nothing makes me crazier than those stupid little wishbone hangers that some stores use to hang their garments. I really, really hate them. The way that you store your garment has such an impact on it, the same way a shoe tree is so important to the life of a good shoe. Two of the most delicate parts of a coat are the top of the sleeve and the collar, and they are shaped to contour your body; it would make sense, then, to hang a garment on something that closely resembles the body, no? Then why do department stores insist on those skinny little wishbone hangers which in no way resemble the body, are usually too wide so they poke out the sleeves, do not support the top of the sleeve so the sleeve buckles, and do not support the collar?

Why do the stores use these awful little hangers, then, if they are so bad? Well, space. And space is money. Space in the distribution center, space in the trucks which ship the product to the stores, and space on the selling floors. They can cram more garments into less space using these little hangers, which saves them money. Grrr.”

Jeffrey Diduch

October 2010

‍Made By Hand - The Great Sartorial Debate

www.tuttofattoamano.blogspot.com

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You should ask the same questions of your dry cleaner:

Why do they use straight, thin, cheap wire, chrome and wood hangers that are not contoured to support the neck and support the shoulders and that protect the overall drape of the garment?

Here’s the answer:

They don’t care. They’re too cheap. They want to maximize the space on their conveyors and trucks.

Whatever the excuse, your garments suffer the consequences of their decisions.

You might reject our opinion on the basis that we are biased.

We plead guilty as charged.

On the other hand, if we're biased and disrespectful of ordinary cleaners so is Ray Smith of the Wall Street Journal, who, in a January 2016 article, explored the negatives associated with straight, thin and cheap wire, chrome and wood hangers.