The Hang-up with Tiered Hangers

09 Oct The Hang-up with Tiered Hangers

Clients believe that I love every product at The Container Store but I will tell you now that’s not true.

Actually, there are several items at TCS that I don’t like and won’t recommend to clients, and I’m very upfront about that. One of those items is the tiered hanger, and here’s why –

The tiered hanger (like this pant one or that one, or this shirt one) while great in theory, is actually very difficult to use.

First of all, when you fill all four tiers with pants or wraps/scarves/pashminas, it becomes very heavy.

Most of these tiered hangers are metal because they have to withstand a lot of weight. Once you add on 4 of any clothing, it increases the weight. That’s a lot of weight on your hanging rod. Some rods can withstand the weight, but others will start to bow or warp under such heavy weight. It can also be cumbersome for certain people to then lift the hanger off the bar.

Second of all, it becomes more difficult to access the items on the lower tiers which means unless the hanger is right in front of you (easy access) you often have to remove it from the closet to get the item you want.

This is not very efficient in my opinion. Even if you alternate the direction of the clothing with each tier, it can be difficult to access the bottom items which have the potential to be forgotten about or rarely used.

This is not to say that there isn’t a purpose for these hangers. Or that they are bad.

If you happen to love them and need them to save space, by all means please continue to use them ( and share with us in the comments why you love them and how you use them). In my profession however, I’ve found for many of my clients who have space, the hanger becomes too difficult to use (whether because of the weight or the access to the items on the hanger) and clients often neglect the items on it.

A similar product is the hanging scarf organizer (which comes in very cute geometric styles like this one or this one). Again, I believe them to be great in theory and I’m instantly attracted to how beautiful the geometric ones are, especially the rose gold one.

But they become lopsided if you don’t fill all the sections or at least keep scarves symmetrical on the hanger. This is especially true for this 5-bar version or even this legging hanger (which can also hold scarves). Once again it can become very heavy so unless this is hung in an easy place to access, you’ll need to remove the hanger to get what you want.

And the other problem is that scarves are usually bulky so even though the hanger is meant to save you space in the closet, it creates a lot of horizontal bulk. In several closets where I have found these, they clients can’t even see all the scarves they have on the product (Oh my gosh – I thought I lost that scarf!).

What do I use/do instead?

I have found it better to roll or fold scarves in a drawer than hang them in a closet. I often do the same for pants (except for dress pants which I assume these hangers are meant for).

I also am a big fan of the slim non-slip velvet hangers (which come in various colors; I use black). Some people love these hangers, and others hate them (it’s ok, we all have our likes/dislikes and should be ok to share them freely).

If you hate them, check out these non-slip rubberized hangers. They don’t come in as many color options, and they don’t have the shirt hanger (like the velvet option includes which I find very helpful for women and tween clothing) but most of my male clients do like them over the velvet ones.

I know hangers can cause a lot of debate and I welcome that in the comments below provided you are considerate about it. We can agree to disagree and still learn from each other.

What hangers do you use and why? Which have you found don’t work for you? Which do you have questions on that I can answer for you?