The History of the Hanger

At MawaHangers.com, our goal is to help you create and maintain a well-organized closet. In order to do so, you need appropriate clothing hangers for the items that fill your closets. Even though they play such a minor role in our lives, clothes hangers do have a rather interesting history.

One of the most creative and prolific inventors in the United States is frequently credited with inventing the predecessor of the modern clothes hanger. It is rumored that Thomas Jefferson invented a wooden hanger for his clothes. While it is difficult to prove whether or not Jefferson really did invent the first hanger, the invention of the wire coat hanger has been credited to three men, all American. O.A. North from Connecticut, Albert J. Parkhouse from Michigan, and Christopher Cann from Boston have all be given credit for creating the wire hanger between the years of 1869 and 1876.

We have come to expect that clothes will be hanging on racks when we visit our favorite stores, but the first man to actually display his tailoring work on hangers was a man named Meyer May from Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1906. This man was so stylish he even lived in a house designed by the most stylish architect of the day: Frank Lloyd Wright. The house is open for tours and those first hangers are hanging inside of the home in Grand Rapids for visitors to see.

Later, two more men made their mark on the clothes hangers as we know them today. If it were not for Schuyler C. Hulett and Elmer D. Rogers between 1932 and 1935, we would not have cardboard covers to protect clothes from wrinkles. Imagine what the dry cleaning industry would be like without wire hangers with coated cardboard on the lower bars.

Clothes hangers have continued to change over the years and they are continually made in a variety of materials. Today’s popular hangers are made of all different materials, to help keep clothes from wrinkling as much and staying on the hanger better. Some hangers are coated in fabrics, like satin, to keep fine fabrics looking their best. Hangers have become more specialized for heavier clothes and for finer pieces with slight straps.

Hangers have also been used in a variety of non-traditional ways. Since wire hangers are so easy to shape, they are often used to open car doors. They are also occasionally used for car radio antennas. In a pinch, welders can turn to wire coat hangers to supply the metal for welding. They are also used in do-it-yourself projects from bird cages to hanging bed canopies. They are also frequently used to roast marshmallows and hotdogs at campfires.

Interestingly, hangers have also become a bit of a collectors’ item. Hangers that have good markings and the proper features can fetch a nice amount of money when they are sold at auction.