The Best Suit Hangers Share These 4 Qualities

Perhaps it comes as no surprise that building a suit collection comes at a price. Men’s Health tells us that even a basic suit costs $300 to $599. Moderately high-quality suits range from $600 to $999, while expensive suits can cost upwards of a thousand dollars. 

It takes time and money to find suits you want to wear, and even outfitting yourself in basic suits is a substantial investment. Unfortunately, however, many men and women end up shortening the lifetimes of their outfits by storing them improperly on the wrong clothes hanger. 

Here, we’ll discuss the problems with hanging your suits on cheap hangers and how to choose a hanger that will keep your suits in top shape for longer. 

The Dangers of Cheap Suit Hangers

Wire and plastic hangers are the cheapest hangers on the market, but this low price will cost you in the long run. The biggest problem with hangers made from these materials is that they are too flimsy. 

According to Maeve Richmond, an expert in-home organizing, “Hangers are designed to mimic the shape of our shoulders.” She also suggests searching for hangers with a broader base on a gentle slope on either side. 

Unfortunately, wire and plastic hangers don’t match the shape of a person’s shoulders. What’s more, hangers in these materials won’t keep the form of a suit’s shoulders and may also add indents to certain types of fabric. 

If you take your suits to the dry cleaner, be sure to take them off the wire hangers immediately when you return home. 

Space-saving hangers might seem like a better solution than wire or plastic, but these are also too lightweight and flimsy to support the tailored design of a suit. If you find yourself needing to use these slim hangers to fit into your closet space, your closet may be too full, an issue that causes its own set of problems. 

4 Qualities of the Best Suit Hangers

1) Hanger Materials

Wooden suit hangers are best. Looks-wise, they elevate your closet with a material that’s more sophisticated than wire or plastic, as well as being more environmentally friendly and long-lasting as well. What’s more, the sturdy wooden material is much stronger than other materials, meaning that suits won’t sag or bunch, which, over time, keeps them looking crisp and polished for longer.

2) Shoulder Support

Fine department stores keep their suits on wooden hangers because this material is most similar in shape to a person’s shoulders. This way, suits, which often have tailored shoulders, will keep their profile. These hangers also curve slightly forward like a person’s shoulders do, meaning that they come designed for supporting the shoulders of the suit. 

Keep that rule of thumb in mind when searching for a hanger: what hanger best imitates the way a garment would fall on a person? With this goal in mind, it’s also important to find a hanger size that matches the width of the suit jacket. In other words, women’s shoulders are typically smaller than men’s, so choosing a small hanger for a woman’s suit jacket is vital. 

3) Trouser Bar Design

The best suit hangers let you keep your suit jackets and pants together by incorporating a trouser bar design beneath the jacket support. The trouser bar should be curved in a way that doesn’t crease the trousers and covered in a material like velvet that will prevent slipping. 

Alternatively, you could choose a pant hanger with its own trouser bar if you want to hang your suit jacket and pants separately. 

Women’s skirt hangers are an alternative to the trouser bar for women’s suits. Skirt hangers should have clips that keep the skirt in place without denting the fabric. 

4) Overall Construction

Look for wooden hangers made of a single piece of wood. If the hanger is made of several parts, it will not support heavy suit jackets properly. These hangers also should have rounded corners to prevent slipping. Further, choose a hanger with attractive hardware to complete your more upscale closet. 

The Quality of Butler Luxury Hangers

Butler Hangers match all the qualities of the best suit hangers. Our wood hangers are constructed with high-quality rosewood or beechwood, making the hanger look attractive in your closet. As an added bonus, our hangers protect the shape of your suits. We offer hangers for both men’s and women’s suits, too, so you can find the hanger size that best matches the width of your shoulders.

Indeed, choosing the right hanger is a crucial first step in ensuring your suits look their best in the long term. However, there are other steps you can take to keep your suits in great shape. Learn more in our Guide to Butler Luxury’s Suit Care Guide. 

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