Ranking Clothes Hangers from $1 to $1,620

London, United Kingdom You might not have thought that ‘luxury clothes hanger dealer’ is a job that exists, but a few weeks ago I happened to meet Mr. William Wong of Arteron London, a store that specializes in garment care near the city’s famous menswear hub of Savile Row.

So when I visited my sister in London, I had to stop by to learn more about the finer points of looking after your clothes — and there’s a lot more to clothes hangers than I thought possible. In the video below we walk through the pros and cons of every level of clothes hanger from the wire one your dry cleaner gives you (all cons) all the way up to four-figure luxury clothes hangers. 

The Problem with Wire Hangers

If you take a look at a wire hanger, you can see it’s quite thin. What this means is that it may damage heavier garments such as a denim jacket or a wool sweater.=

“What’s happening is you’re putting all of this weight on a very thin wire hanger and it stretches out the cloth in specific spots,” says William. “So it puts a lot of stress on the fabric itself and over time, especially with denim, you can notice the effect.”

He’s emphasizing denim because I was complaining that when I let a denim jacket on a wire hanger for about a year, it acquired faded spots in the shoulders where the hanger was applying the most pressure. That’s not a good denim fade.

“Sometimes I would argue that it’s better to use no hanger at all, just because a wire hanger can really damage it,” says William.

Felt Hangers

Although this is a step up from the wire hanger, they are still cheaply made and have certain flaws.

Firstly, the shape is not conducive to the shape you would want for a shirt or coat simply because this hanger isn’t shaped like a human body.

William does say they can be used for trousers, as the velvet does play a role in giving a little friction so they don’t slip off the bottom rung when you fold them over it.

Just be careful if your clothes are wet, as the dye from the velvet can transfer over to more fragile garments. 

Wooden Suit Hangers

A lot of people (including myself before visiting Arterton) think this is as premium as hangers get. However, when you take a closer look at the classic wood hanger you can see that it’s quite flat.

Ultimately, what you want hangers to do is emulate human curvature, in order to best preserve the shape of finer garments and tailored clothing. These hangers are okay for shirts — but definitely not for suits, jackets, or anything you might treasure.

Luxury Clothes Hangers

William gave us a simple rule: “The more surface area, the better the hanger.”

(Obviously, that doesn’t mean that a two-mile-wide hanger is better, we’re talking about the spectrum of wire-thin to shoulder-shaped.)

The first Arteron-recommended hanger on our list is the Nakata AUT-05 Hanger which comes in at roughly 50USD and is available in three different sizes so you can shape your suit as optimally as possible.  

The AUT-o5 is hand stained and features a thick, felted trouser bar (to minimize unwanted creases) that’s pneumatically punched into the hanger instead of being screwed in — this hanger will last, and is intended to be handed down for generations, preserving your favorite heirloom pieces all the while.

The World’s Fanciest Clothes Hanger

But we’re not done yet. The honor of the fanciest clothes hanger you’ll ever see goes to the Nakata Wajima hanger, which rings in at a 1,216 British pounds.

Hand-carved from a single block of wood and distinguished with hand-painted details, each design is part of a limited run. It almost seems a shame to cover this piece of art and stow it away in the closet at all. 

Takeaways: Thanks for Hanging Out

If you’re strictly concerned with taking the best possible care of your suit jacket then you can tap out at the “basic” Nakata AUT-05. Whether you want garment care that’s reasonably premium or unreasonably premium, you can find it from our pals at Arterton! 

Or if you’re not so interested in hand stained Japanese wooden hangers, just take this away: the closer your hanger is to the shape of your shoulders, the better.