Hangers... Do you hang your leather jackets on them?

[EmergencyIan]

I own an A-2 jacket and other than that I don't have any leather jackets. I hadn't thought about it until today, but can see how hanging a leather jacket on a hanger might cause a problem in the jackets shoulder area.

What are your experiences with using a hanger to hang your leather jacket(s) up?



- Ian

 

[Mr Badger]

I'll quite happily hang my goatskin G1 and A2 from hangers, but they have to be the really large cross-section plastic type, the kind you get with suit jackets, so that their (admittedly, relatively light) weight is spread evenly across the shoulder areas. For any jacket heavier than my G1 and A2, I simply keep them laid out in a trunk, with some moth-proofing sachets inside the lid.

Using 'regular' wooden, wire or plastic hangers, you'd be risking deforming the shoulders with 'pokes' from the ends and/or, for vintage pieces, busting the shoulder seams by dint of the jacket's weight.

Something with this level of shaping/profile would be OK for your A2, but do make sure that whatever hanger you use, it fills the whole shoulder area, otherwise you'll get 'pokes' in your jacket from the hanger ends:

 

[EmergencyIan]

I'll quite happily hang my goatskin G1 and A2 from hangers, but they have to be the really large cross-section plastic type, the kind you get with suit jackets, so that their (admittedly, relatively light) weight is spread evenly across the shoulder areas. For any jacket heavier than my G1 and A2, I simply keep them laid out in a trunk, with some moth-proofing sachets inside the lid

I have one of those very hangers. Maybe I'll use that.


- Ian

 

[Jeff M]

I use wide shouldered wooden hangers.
I purchased my through this eBay auction (Not affiliated with the seller.);

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330410424527&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

The quality is excellent.
Seller was very good. Prompt communication. Had a mix up in the shipping costs that was handled efficiently.

 

[Silver Dollar]

It's got to be the big wide shouldered hangers especially for B3s. Those skinny wire hangers will destroy sheepskin in a heart beat.

 

[EmergencyIan]

Thanks for the leads in the right direction, all! It's helpful, for sure.


- Ian

 

[Peacoat]

I use the wide wooden hangers similar to the ones posted by Jeff for my peacoats. The leather jackets I throw on the floor of the walk in closet. It helps toughen them up to meet their coming challenges, and the wrinkling helps bring out the grain, especially in the horsehide.

Take your Bronco (I believe it is?), wad it up and throw it in the corner with other jackets on top of it. Change position frequently. It will help that HH to pop out and become gnarly much faster than if hung on a hanger and babied. Just make sure the wind flap doesn't get twisted at a funny angle.

 

[TheSnark]

I've always used the biggest, widest cedar hangers available. But now that the jacket collection has completely overrun two closets and intruding into a third, I think I'll start following the Peacoat Plan, with possibly a few cedar chips thrown around pile. I love the smell of cedar, and it does keep the moths out of linings.

 

[too much coffee]

Ian,

Navin 323i and JanSolo had some dialogue about wooden hangers for heavy jackets back in June 2010 under the "Outerwear" forum. There were pics of hangers and interesting comments about their various virtues. I believe the thread(or post)was titled "Questions about horsehide" by Navin.
Hope this helps you.
Regards, coffee

 

[alfyman]

I own an A-2 jacket and other than that I don't have any leather jackets. I hadn't thought about it until today, but can see how hanging a leather jacket on a hanger might cause a problem in the jackets shoulder area.

What are your experiences with using a hanger to hang your leather jacket(s) up?



- Ian

I had a B3 Sheepskin Jacket and used a small hanger and all of a sudden I had bumps on the shoulders of the jacket because I wasn't supposed to use a small hanger. I had to sell the Jacket though.

 

[The Good]

Uh yes, at the moment I've been using a wooden hanger of unknown quality (to me anyway), to store my leather in my closet. Should I switch to a plastic hanger?

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Wood is good.

Nothing wrong at all with hanging a fine horse or goat jacket on a nice wooden hanger. It's all natural after all. I might not hang a sheep skin or lamb jacket on a too small hanger though,..as the softness of these leathers may lead to stretching in the shoulder area from the weight of the leather bearing down on the hanger. Never had a problem with any jacket on a good sized wood or plastic hanger though.

 

[The Good]

Nothing wrong at all with hanging a fine horse or goat jacket on a nice wooden hanger. It's all natural after all. I might not hang a sheep skin or lamb jacket on a too small hanger though,..as the softness of these leathers may lead to stretching in the shoulder area from the weight of the leather bearing down on the hanger. Never had a problem with any jacket on a good sized wood or plastic hanger though.

Huh. My goatskin sure feels pretty soft, but then again this about all I've handled when it comes to leather, as of yet.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Goat,and of course horse hide are much tougher than sheep or lamb skin. The shape of the hanger one uses is much more important than the material it is made of. A good sized hanger with rounded edges and more surface area for the jacket to hang from,(see the post by Mr. Badger) should not cause any stretching and deformation of a fine jacket made of any type of leather that is commonly used.

 

[Dav]

When I first got my Highwayman I kept it on a large cedar hanger, then I read Peacoats advice to throw them on the floor, so now it lives on a chair pretty much how it lands(I live alone so no one complains) unless it's wet, then it goes on the hanger to dry.

 

[Spitfire]

My A2's goes on hangers - as large as possible and with broad shoulderends.

My Irvin goes in a chair or on the bed or on the floor. Hanging a heavy sheepskin jacket on a hanger would probably spoil both the shape and the skin.

 

[Heavyduti]

Always on a wide hanger

And have never had a problem with 'pokes' in the shoulders of my A-2s

 

[bentusian]

I'm not quite sure about keeping an A-2 jacket laid flat on the floor or inbetween other jackets stacked in the closet - one of the secondhand A-2s I've previously owned had the back of its collar curled up outward, and it didn't look good at all. The original owner said it was due to keeping the jacket laid flat for extended length of time.

Since then I never keep my A-2s flat on its back. I always use wide shouldered wooden hangers being sold by the jacket's manufacturer itself.

 

[sportride67]

I prefer to have mine age naturally, so its typically just lying around...kinda like where it ends up when I toss it. But if this is a concern, look for a broad hanger with as natural of a "shoulder" as a humans, so it will maintain its shape as if you were wearing it.

 

[Silver Dollar]

I went and left an Irvin sheepskin on the bed once and my wife went and hung it in the closet on a wire hanger. :eusa_doh: When I discovered it I just about needed a clean pair of shorts. I put it back on the biggest hanger I've got and it's been locked up safe since. I'll never be absent minded again and leave a jacket on the bed. shakeshead