A clothes hanger, coat hanger, or coathanger, or simply a hanger, is a hanging device in the shape/contour of:
The clothing hanger was originally designed to allow people quick access to their clothing as well as designate an area, in their home, to keep their clothing in. It was also used to keep clothing dry or without a wrinkle.
There are three basic types of clothes hangers. The first is the wire hanger, which has a simple loop of wire, most often steel,[ citation needed ] in a flattened triangle shape that continues into a hook at the top. The second is the wooden hanger, which consists of a flat piece of wood cut into a boomerang-like shape with the edges sanded down to prevent damage to the clothing, and a hook, usually of metal, protruding from the point. Some wooden hangers have a rounded bar from tip to tip, forming a flattened triangle. This bar is designed to hang the trousers belonging to the jacket. The third kind and most used in today's world are plastic coat hangers, which mostly mimic the shape of either a wire or a wooden hanger. Plastic coat hangers are also produced in smaller sizes to accommodate the shapes of children's clothes.
Some hangers have clips along the bottom for suspending skirts. Dedicated skirt and trousers hangers may not use the triangular shape at all, instead using just a rod with clips. Other hangers have little rings coming from the top two bars to hang straps from tank-tops on. Specialized pant hanger racks may accommodate many pairs of trousers. Foldable clothes hangers that are designed to be inserted through the collar area for ease of use and the reduction of stretching are an old, yet potentially useful variation on traditional clothes hangers. They have been patented over 200 times in the U.S. alone, as in U.S. Patent 0586456, awarded in 1897 to George E. Hideout. [1]
Referred to as a coat-hanger, the small piece of fabric attached to the nape of the neck inside a coat or jacket was developed in 1830, enabling the hanging of such types of outer clothing. [2] Around 1850, small chains were developed to be used in place of fabric loops, though the use of loops of fabric continued, and are still a feature present in many garments today. [2]
US President Thomas Jefferson was known to have a device for hanging clothes in his closet at Monticello. [3] However, today's most-used hanger, the shoulder-shaped wire hanger, was inspired by a coat hook that was invented in 1869 by O. A. North of New Britain, Connecticut. [4] An employee of the Timberlake Wire and Novelty Company, Albert J. Parkhouse of Jackson, Michigan has also been credited with the invention. The story goes that one morning in 1903, Parkhouse arrived to work to find that all coat hooks were taken. Annoyed, he took a piece of wire, bent it into the shape we would recognize today, and hung his coat. [5] Also credited is Christopher Cann in 1876 as an engineering student at Boston University.
In 1906 Meyer May, a men's clothier of Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first retailer to display his wares on his wishbone-inspired hangers. Some of these original hangers can be seen at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Meyer May House in Grand Rapids.
In 1932 Schuyler C. Hulett patented an improved design, which used cardboard tubes mounted on the upper and lower parts of the wire to prevent wrinkles, and in 1935 Elmer D. Rogers added a tube on the lower bar, which is still used. [6]
Hangers can be made in wood, wire, plastic, rarely from a rubber substance and other materials. Some are padded with fine materials, such as satin, for expensive clothes, lingerie and fancy dresses. The soft, plush padding is intended to protect garments from shoulder dents that wire hangers may make. A caped hanger is an inexpensive wire clothing hanger covered in paper. Caped hangers are used by dry cleaners to protect garments after cleaning. Used wire hangers may be recycled, or returned to the dry cleaner. [7]
The development of travel hangers, which are designed to provide a compact solution for travelers who require a simple, lightweight and foldable hanger that can accommodate their clothing needs, was a natural progression in the evolution of hangers. These hangers have been specifically designed with the traveler in mind, with their folding design allowing users to wrap their clothing around the hanger, making it easier to pack and store in their luggage.
This evolution has not only focused on their functionality and design but also on their environmental impact. The use of recycled plastics is one way in which hangers can be more sustainable. The production of hangers from recycled materials reduces waste, conserves energy and resources, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions. This development is a natural progression in the evolution of hangers, aligning with global efforts to reduce plastic waste and promote sustainability.
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The wire is versatile, and wire clothes hangers are often used as cheap sources of semi-tough wire, more available than baling wire for all sorts of home projects. The use of wire clothes hangers for use as makeshift welding rod has been common for nearly 100 years. Similarly, many similar do-it-yourself and children's projects use wire hangers as holders of various types, from keeping a brake caliper from hanging by the brake line during auto repair work to securing a gate on a birdcage. The much-loved 'Advent crown' made for children's TV program Blue Peter was made from four-wire coathangers. [8] Coathangers can be used to make dowsing rods. [9] After sanding, wire hangers also find uses as conducting wire for uses as varied as hot-wiring cars to games [10] to testing hand steadiness. They are commonly used to gain forcible entry into older automobiles whose locks and entry systems are not protected from such methods. There is a long history of using wire coat hangers as replacement car radio antennas. Clothes hangers are also commonly used as an implement for roasting marshmallows or hot dogs at camp-outs.
Collecticus magazine reported in October 2007 that clothes hangers have now become collectible, especially those with a famous company or event advertised across the front. For example, a 1950 Butlins hanger sold for £10.10 in October 2006 within Collecticus.
In 1995, while performing surgery in an airliner at 35,000 feet (11,000 m), orthopedic surgeon Angus Wallace and his fellow doctor Tom Wong used an unfolded coathanger, sterilised with brandy, as a trocar to stiffen a catheter for use as a chest tube to relieve a passenger's pneumothorax. [11] [12]
Straightened-out wire clothes hangers have been used to perform unsafe and/or illegal abortions (frequently self-induced) by inserting the wire through the cervix and into the uterus, in order to cause the uterus to expel its contents. This life-threatening method poses severe risks to the person on whom it is performed. [13] At pro-choice protests, wire clothes hangers have been used as symbols of the danger of criminalizing elective abortion. [13] [14]
A zipper, zip, or fly, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing, luggage and other bags, camping gear, and many other items, zippers come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and colors. In 1892, Whitcomb L. Judson, an American inventor from Chicago, patented the original design from which the modern device evolved.
A coat is typically an outer garment for the upper body, worn by any gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a belt, or a combination of some of these. Other possible features include collars, shoulder straps, and hoods.
A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of trousers. It is currently considered semi-formal wear or business wear in contemporary Western dress codes, however when the suit was originally developed it was considered an informal or more casual option compared to the prevailing clothing standards of aristocrats and businessmen. The lounge suit originated in 19th-century Britain as sportswear and British country clothing, which is why it was seen as more casual than citywear at that time, with the roots of the suit coming from early modern Western Europe formal court or military clothes. After replacing the black frock coat in the early 20th century as regular daywear, a sober one-coloured suit became known as a lounge suit.
A pocket is a bag- or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets are also attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items. In older usage, a pocket was a separate small bag or pouch.
Gabardine is a durable twill worsted wool. It is a tightly woven waterproof fabric and is used to make outerwear and various other garments, such as suits, overcoats, trousers, uniforms, and windbreakers. Thomas Burberry created the fabric in the late 1870s and patented it in 1888. The name gabardine comes from "gaberdine", a type of long, cape-like dress worn during the Middle Ages.
A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing, a type of undergarment worn under a skirt or a dress. Its precise meaning varies over centuries and between countries.
1860s fashion in European and European-influenced countries is characterized by extremely full-skirted women's fashions relying on crinolines and hoops and the emergence of "alternative fashions" under the influence of the Artistic Dress movement.
A bodice is an article of clothing traditionally for women and girls, covering the torso from the neck to the waist. The term typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress to distinguish it from the skirt and sleeves. The name bodice is etymologically an odd plural spelling of "body" and comes from an older garment called a pair of bodies.
Clothes valet, also called men's valet, valet stand and suit stand, is a piece of furniture to hang clothes on. Clothes are hung that are worn multiple times before laundering, such as a men's suit. Typical features of valets include trouser hangers, jacket hangers, shoe bars, and a tray organizer for miscellaneous, day-to-day objects like wallets and keys. Some also feature jewelry boxes.
A dolman is either a military shirt, or a jacket decorated with braiding, first worn by Hungarian hussars. The word is of Turkish origin, and after being adopted into Hungarian, has propagated to other languages. The garment was worn by peasants from the 16th century onward and eventually spread throughout the country, mainly within wealthy peasant circles. It reached people living in the poorest conditions only at the end of the 19th century.
Kurdish traditional clothing, also known as Kurdish dress, refers to the folk costumes of the Kurdish people. The traditions typically vary across different regions and tribes of Kurdistan, but it has some common elements. Historically, Kurdish clothing was more complex and varied, but it has evolved to a simpler form over time. It is also prominently worn during festivals and special occasions such as Newroz.
A pleat is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference.
A man's suit of clothes, in the sense of a lounge, office, business, dinner or dress suit, is a set of garments which are crafted from the same cloth. This article discusses the history of the lounge suit, often called a business suit when featuring dark colors and a conservative cut.
The Medieval period in England is usually classified as the time between the fall of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the Renaissance, roughly the years AD 410–1485. For various peoples living in England, the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Danes, Normans and Britons, clothing in the medieval era differed widely for men and women as well as for different classes in the social hierarchy. The general styles of Early medieval European dress were shared in England. In the later part of the period, men's clothing changed much more rapidly than women's styles. Clothes were very expensive, and both men and women were divided into social classes by regulating the colors and styles that various ranks were permitted to wear. In the early Middle Ages, clothing was typically simple and, particularly in the case of lower-class peoples, served only basic utilitarian functions such as modesty and protection from the elements. As time went on the advent of more advanced textile techniques and increased international relations, clothing gradually got more and more intricate and elegant, even with those under the wealthy classes, up into the renaissance.
An overskirt is a type of women's short skirt which is draped over another garment, such as a skirt, breeches, or trousers. Although peplum is often used as another term for overskirt, it should not be confused with the peplos or "peplum dress", which was worn in ancient Greece.
PVC clothing is shiny clothing made from the plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC). PVC plastic is often called "vinyl" and this type of clothing is commonly known as vinyl clothing. PVC is sometimes confused with the similarly shiny patent leather.
A garment bag or suit bag is a container of flexible material, usually used to ease transporting suits, jackets or clothing in general, and also to protect clothes from dust by hanging them inside with their hangers and then on a closet bar. The simplest models usually have a zipper that opens from top to bottom, in the middle of one side. They can be manufactured with different materials, such as fabric, leather or plastic.
A shoe hanger, also called a shoe display hanger, is commonly used to hang and display footwear in retail stores for the purpose of space efficient storage and to present footwear to customers. Shoe hangers have secondary functions of providing support for footwear and for displaying key information, such as style and shoe size. Shoe hangers come in a variety of styles for different display purposes and footwear types. The most common styles are wing, hook, and clip designs, which are made from plastic.
A clothes steamer, also called a garment steamer or simply a steamer, is a device used for quickly removing wrinkles from garments and fabrics with the use of high temperature steam. They can for example be used to straighten wrinkles on shirts by releasing tension in the fabric so that it straightens itself. Steamers can also remove smells.
Shanku is a generic term which refers to a two-piece set of attire in Hanfu, which is typically composed of a youren yi, a Chinese upper garment which typically overlaps and closes on the right side which could be called shan, ru, ao, and a pair of long trousers ku. As a form of daily attire, the shanku was mainly worn by people from lower social status in China, such as labourers, shopkeepers, or retainers from wealthy household. The shanku was originally worn by both genders. Up until the mid-20th century, it was popular in China and outside of China where it was worn by overseas Chinese in countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Suriname, etc. It is still worn in present-day China and can be found in rural areas.
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