The 10 Best Coat Hangers
Special Honors
The Container Store Basic Natural Not only do these natural wooden hangers look great, but they also sport a classic, flat profile to accommodate a variety of garments. They’re available with notched arms that can hold small straps, and in designs featuring ribbed bars to hold jeans or slacks without your needing to bother with clips or clamps. They’re made of solid wood in a warm finish, along with swiveling chrome hooks. containerstore.com
Kirby Allison Wooden Felted Trouser Bar Available in a set of five, these luxury hangers delicately grip your pants without causing creases or other damage sometimes experienced with locking-bar models. They feature a space-saving design and are available in two sizes and three finishes. Unlike those of competitors, the bar does not spin and features a large drop to make the chore of threading your trousers as quick and easy as possible. hangerproject.com
Editor's Notes
March 31, 2020:
Our list features sturdy coat hangers made from a variety of materials including long-lasting wood, smooth and durable plastic, nonslip velvet, and soft and protective satin. They come in your choice of a variety of colors, as well as multicolored packs that are useful in grouping your clothes throughout your closet. As many frequent travelers know, there’s often just not enough hangers in hotel rooms. Today we added the Trubetter Travel, which provide a great solution for frequent travelers who know there often aren't enough hangers provided in hotel rooms. These fold up compactly into the pockets of your luggage or carry-on. They’ll keep garments looking fresh and wrinkle-free, thanks to their smooth build, anti-skid grooves, and slightly rounded ends. You can purchase them with confidence, thanks to their money-back satisfaction guarantee. They replace the Household Essentials CedarFresh Deluxe on our list, which we removed amidst reports the metal hook comes undone easily from the wooden component.
In this update, we also added the Zober Open Ended to the list. They’re made of rust-resistant chrome-plated metal, with bars covered in a rubber coating that ensures your pants and skirts won’t slip. They’re sold in packs of 20, 30, and 40, and their open design makes them easy for hanging your garments. Their slim profile ensures they won’t take up too much space in your closet, which gives you room to store more clothing at a time. They replace the Clutter Mate Premium, which feature a bar that pants slip off rather easily.
We also replaced the Ipow Heavy-Duty ABS, which is not currently available, with the similar Sable Heavy Duty, which are color coded to help you in organizing your closet. Not only are they well suited for dress shirts, but also for pants, thanks to the included metal hooks. They also feature a smaller slot on the top that’s great for holding ties and scarves.
For your delicates, look to the Whitmor Satin, which feature a smooth, padded construction that makes them well suited for holding silk and cashmere garments. They’re pretty, too, with decorative bows on top, and are available in a range of attractive colors. The affordable and highly popular AmazonBasics Velvet remain in our top spot. It’s hard to go wrong with these sturdy velvet hangers, as they'll hold onto clothing firmly, and their slim design won’t take up any extra closet space. Although they’re compact, each is strong enough to support up to 10 pounds in weight.
The Importance Of Using Hangers
They're not strong enough to support heavier fabrics, so your clothes will start to sag.
Look, we know it's no fun. You get home from work, and the last thing you want is another chore, so you just take your shirt off and toss it on the floor.
Unfortunately, if you do this, you can shorten the lifespan of your clothes, not to mention limit how many clean shirts you have for work. By crumpling your clothes up on the floor, you're more likely to need to wash them more often — and that can wear out the threads.
This may be fine if all you own are $10 t-shirts that you're fine with replacing every few months. If you have high-dollar suits or custom-made shirts, though, you'll want to take better care of them — and that means hanging them up.
A suit that's been properly hung up will hold its shape better over time, preventing the shoulders from getting deformed. You can get a hanger with clips or a dowel rod to hold pants in place, and you can slip a waistcoat or vest underneath the jacket.
And for heaven's sake — don't use those harsh wire models they give you at the dry cleaners. They're not strong enough to support heavier fabrics, so your clothes will start to sag. They're also prone to leaving wire marks on the shoulders, letting everyone know you didn't spring for a quality hanger.
Not all hangers are equal widths, either. Make sure that the ones you use are at least as broad as your shoulders, or else your tops will lose their natural shoulder line.
Wood hangers are usually the best, as they're strong enough to support virtually any clothing, and models made from cedar may help to repel moths. However, they do tend to be more expensive, so if they're not in your budget, a velvet- or satin-padded model will work just fine.
Make sure you have enough hangers for all of your clothes — or all of the clothes you care about, anyway. Not only will they extend the lifespan of your threads, they'll also keep clothes from piling up on your floor, killing two birds with one stone.
See? This adulting stuff doesn't have to be that hard.
Hang It Or Fold It?
One of the harshest lessons that you learn when growing up — besides that whole "no summers off" thing — is that there are a variety of rules to caring for your clothes. Should you hang those pants, or fold them? What about sweaters? And won't someone tell me what to do with my ties?
The same goes for belts — just hang them from the buckles if you store them vertically.
First, the obvious ones: your shirts, suits, and dress pants should be hung up. Fold your pants in half, and hang them over the pants bar. Just try not to fold them at the knee, as that puts extra pressure on a spot that takes a beating during daily wear.
Heavier pants like jeans or corduroys should be folded up and stored in a drawer. They're made to handle a rough and tumble lifestyle, so you don't need to be super precious and hang them in your closet.
Dressy skirts should be hung up using hangers with clips on them. If it's made of denim or other thick materials, you can fold them and hang them like you would a pair of trousers.
Sweaters, on the other hand, will usually get stretched out under their own weight when hung. You should fold them up and put them in a drawer, or in a vacuum bag once they're out of season. This will keep them in good shape, and safe from bugs.
Tie racks should be used for your ties, but you can also loop them over the pants bar of a hanger or roll them up and store them on their side in a drawer. The same goes for belts — just hang them from the buckles if you store them vertically.
Other Ways To Make Your Clothes Last
Clothes are expensive, and there's nothing worse than having to throw out a favorite item because it's worn out. If you take care of your duds, though, they should last you for years — plenty long enough for those vinyl jumpsuits to come back in style.
We've already covered the importance of hanging your clothes back up when you take them off. The next most important thing you can do is wash them properly. Be sure to read every label thoroughly, and sort your loads based on both color and washing instructions.
They're not all created equal, and it's unlikely that you'll be able to find just one that works for everything you own.
Jeans can go a long time between washes, and throwing them in the machine too often can cause them to lose their shape, so only launder them when absolutely necessary. Also, when washing delicates, you should put them in a mesh bag so that they don't catch on the machine.
Choosing the right detergent is important, as well. They're not all created equal, and it's unlikely that you'll be able to find just one that works for everything you own. Plan on having one for basic laundry, and another one suitable for delicate items.
Also, if an item says "dry clean only," please take it at its word.
For your kicks, be sure to use a shoe tree when you're not wearing them. Not only will this help wick away moisture and prevent them from stinking, it will also help them maintain their shape. Use a shoe horn when putting them on, as well (and no, your thumb doesn't count).
Try to give your clothes room to breathe, regardless of whether they're hanging or folded. This will help them dry out, while also giving you a better idea of your options when you get dressed in the morning.
Honestly, it doesn't take much work to make your clothes last as long as you need them to. With a little bit of effort, you should be able to wear that jacket with the super-high shoulder pads for years to come.