How To Store Your Quality Clothing

A deep-dive into the fundamentals of storing your hard-earned, quality clothing properly, focusing specifically on hanging and folding.

Will Reynolds |  November 3

Here at Heddels, we aim to buy less and buy better, with longevity and timeless style at the heart of our product choices. But buying better doesn’t necessarily mean that your quality goods will last forever.You have to help them along the way by caring for them with the same love and care you put into sourcing them. And a key element of that care is storing them correctly.Awkward creases, funny smells, unwanted pests —and even sun damage — there’s a host of things to consider when choosing where to keep your garments when you’re not using them. In this article, we’re going to look at the fundamentals of storing them properly, focusing specifically on hanging and folding.Before we get into it, a quick disclaimer: everyone will have different ways of doing things, whether it’s folding your favorite pair of jeans or conditioning your beater boots. And that’s totally cool.The goal of this piece is to share our guidance on storing your quality goods. And if you’re already a clothing care-bear, then hopefully this piece will help to refine and reinforce your knowledge. With that, let’s get into it. 

A Word On Sunlight

Image via No Maintenance

When choosing where to store your garments, be mindful of sunlight ingress.

Long periods of exposure to the sun, especially if the garment is damp or wet, can lead to fading or ‘sun bleaching’. Even sun-fading over time can form a charming part of a garment’s patina, but a small splash of it just looks plain awkward.

In wardrobes and drawers, sunlight isn’t an issue. But on open rails, coat hooks, and racks, you do need to be mindful. 

Garment bags

 will help combat this, but if storing on a rack, hook, or shelf, just switch up the positions of your garments so they’re not getting the same constant exposure.

A Word on Hangers

Brooklyn Tailors Standard Wooden Suit Hanger, $12 from Brooklyn Tailors

A fundamental part of storing clothing, invest in some decent hangers to keep your clothes elevated. We don’t mean go crazy, price-wise, just some solid wooden hangers that won’t snap and end up in landfill like their plastic counterparts. 

Not only are they more durable and less likely to bend, which means the item of clothing keeps its shape for longer, they’re just flat-out better looking.

Our editor James stands by 

IKEA

‘s wooden coat hangers which are under $3 a piece, but you can also pick up some solid wood jawns like the 

Brooklyn Tailors

 hanger above, which is made from a gorgeous solid birch with a brass hook. 

Avoiding Smells and Pests

Guys, just because you wash your denim infrequently, doesn’t mean it has to smell. That goes for all your clothes, too, by the way. There are some really simple and inexpensive things you can incorporate into your care routine to keep your garms smelling fresh, even if they haven’t been washed for months (you sick, twisted denim head).  

The Power of Cedar

Cedar chip sachets and Cedar , available from $5 on Etsy, and Cedar Clothes Storage Blocks, $13 at NorthPointLumber

Firstly, drawer fresheners. Unbelievably cheap and long-lasting, these little bags of cedar chips, or even lavender, are a fool-proof way of making your clothes smell great whilst in storage.All you need to do is stick them in your drawers and replace them every so often. They also help to repel insects, termites, moths, and whatever else lurks in the depths of your living spaces. 

Moths are a common pest when it comes to clothes storage. Clothes moths have evolved to get their sustenance from Keratin, a protein in animal-based fabrics like wool, silk, feathers, and fur.So they love attacking your woolens, and even your sweats if they’re desperate for something to chew on. If you’re hanging the majority of your clothes, hanging some cedar blocks one the same rail will naturally deter clothes moths whilst making your clothes smell like the great outdoors.

Room Tags

reTaw Room Tags, $25 at Canoe Club

If you hang your clothes on an exposed rail, room tags are an inexpensive method of making the room that your rail sits within smell wonderful.There’s no need to spend hundreds of dollars on soy candles. Why not drop $25 on some inconspicuous retaW room tags instead? Cheap, eco-friendly, and effective.  

Denim

Now, I know what you might be thinking: you want your denim to be worn in and to fade beautifully. We all do – that’s partly what brought you here, right? Well, mistreating your denim isn’t going to help in the fade department, even if it is durable. 

Hanging Denim

Japanese denim is almost like a piece of art. And what do you do with art? You hang it up. The easiest and potentially most optimal way to hang jeans properly is to get yourself a few good quality straight-bar hangers with dual clips (pictured above) and hang the denim vertically – no folds. You can also pick up a pretty neat ‘Jean Hanger’ by Saldebus which looks to be well-made and useful. Self Edge also sells handmade Steel Jean Hangers, pictured below. Both of these hangers also allow the denim to hang straight, preventing any unnecessary creases. 

The Saldebus Jean Hanger, available on Etsy for $44 for a pack (left), and Self Edge Handmade Steel Jean Hangers (right), $45 from Self Edge

If you’ve got some decent hanging space, you can also invest in some S-shaped hangers or some pattern hooks. Putting these through the center-back belt loop of your jeans will allow them to drape naturally and minimize the risk of crease lines if you’re leaving them stored for a while.

Pattern hooks via Imogene + Willie, similar available at JamesTailoring (left), and S-Shaped Hangers, $8.99 from Amazon (right)

But perhaps you don’t want to have to buy some trouser hangers, or maybe your wardrobe is vertically challenged, so the denim hits the floor and crumples when you try and hang it straight. That’s totally fine.

There’s another way of hanging jeans and casual trousers, which readers that work in the retail space will be familiar with. I don’t believe it has a technical name, so for the purpose of this article, I’m just going to refer to it as the ‘retail hang’.

It’s essentially a hanging fold. To spare you my trying to describe this method in writing, here’s a video exhibiting the technique. 

Folding Denim

You don’t have to hang your denim. It’s not going to spontaneously combust if it’s folded, and not all of us have massive wardrobes or rails, so sometimes folding is optimal from a space conservation perspective. 

Folding denim is simple. Fold in half widthways  (waist forward or back, it doesn’t really matter) so that one leg is neatly covering the other leg. Then grab the hems, bring them up to the knee area mid-way up the jean, then fold the remaining

If you’d like to avoid creases altogether when you’re folding and save even more space, consider rolling your denim. 

Shirting

Momotaro 10 oz. Pique Indigo Dyed Shirt via Corlection

Shirting is perhaps the most important garment category when it comes to proper care and storage. While a mildly creased shirt might not look that bad aesthetically, it can sometimes give off the wrong signals and lead to an awkward silhouette.  

Hanging Shirts

Images via Corridor NYC

Coat hangers are a good choice for button-downs, but straight hangers with no lumps or bumps for the fabric to catch on, also work. If you do hang your shirts, I do recommend buttoning every other button.

Buttoning the shirt will help keep it from wrinkling and the shape from distorting, and you’ll also prevent the shirt from falling off the hanger and generally looking pretty untidy in your wardrobe. Make sure you button the shirt after it’s on the hanger to prevent the collar from stretching out, though.

According to luxury hanger producer, 

Lou Hansell,

 the width of the hanger should not overpass the width of the shirt shoulders when it comes to formal shirting. But with most hangers being 17″-18″ wide, it’s best to just go for the coat hangers if you have the storage space. 

Folding

Folding shirts that aren’t flannels isn’t really recommended. In most scenarios, you should hang your shirts if you can. If you’re low on space in the wardrobe and only drawers are available, you can do it, and here’s how.

Image via Nimble Made

Steaming

With that, we need to touch on ironing and steaming. If you’re choosing, or having, to fold your button-downs, chances are you will need to get some creases out before wearing them.  

A clothing steamer with favorable reviews, $49 at Walmart

Let’s just get this out of the way real quick: steaming is generally better than ironing. Why? It requires less space than a fully-fledged ironing board, less set up, and is overall just a faster, gentler method of getting creases out of your garments. All you have to do is put your garment on a hanger and get to steaming out the creases. Garments with heavier fabrics, like woolen overshirts and 10 oz. plus denim will probably need an iron to get all the niggles and creases out. But for anything lighter than that, steaming is the way forward. Steaming is far less likely to damage delicate fabrics because they’re not as hot, and the heat isn’t as concentrated in one area. 

Sweaters

Howlin’ Mohair sweater via Lost & Found

The soft and pliable nature of wool and other knitted fabrics means they need a pretty decent storing situation. We’ve all seen creased-up, crumpled knits in a vintage store that have been neglected so much that not even an industrial steamer can save them.

Hanging Sweaters

Coat Hanger, $2.99 from IKEA

Just one golden rule, here — use a coat/knitwear hanger. Strong and robust with gently sloping, rounded shoulders and non-slip features. Failing to use the correct hangers when hanging your sweatshirts may result in a severe case of shoulder nipples.

While not life-threatening, shoulder nipples (yes, that is indeed the technical term) can be really annoying and cause your garment to become misshapen.

Shoulder nipples occur when a hanger is too structured, too narrow or square, and the two outer points of the hanger dig into the fabric of the shoulders. The fabric essentially gets used to the hanger being there and molds around it, creating a bump in the fabric.The longer the garment is left on the hanger, the more pronounced the bump becomes. Coat/knitwear hangers are more optimal because they mimic the natural drape of the garment your shoulders, meaning no digging into the fabric, and no nipples. Good times all ’round.  

Shoulder nipples. Image via 614Now

As wool is one of moths’ favorite things to much on, be sure to put your woolen sweaters in 

garment bags

 when not wearing them for more than a couple of days and deploy some tactical cedar to keep them away.

Folding Sweaters

Image via TODAY

Folding sweaters is similar to shirting, but we like this method from Samantha Okazaki of TODAY.

Images via TODAY

Sweatshirts 

Image via HINOYA

Sportswear. Who the hell folds and hangs sportswear, right? Us. Loopwheel sweats can cost anywhere between $150-550, so you best believe I’m looking after them properly. Ultimately, sweatshirts can be hung or folded. Again, it depends on several variables, like how often you wear the sweatshirt, how much space you have, and, quite frankly, how much you care. Whatever you decide to do, here are some useful tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your sweatshirts.  

Hanging Sweatshirts

Image via Stuf-F

Sweatshirts fall into the knitwear category, and knitwear needs coat/knitwear hangers.  

Folding Sweatshirts

Images via Tempo Design Store

I have a tonne of sweatshirts and I wear them pretty much every day, so folding is easier for me. There’s no special technique when it comes to folding a sweatshirt optimally, though. Simply lay it flat facing away from you, fold both arms into the center, then fold the sweater in on itself — just like the shirt diagram in the shirting section above.You can also double up on step 3 to make the finished fold smaller and save space. Alternatively, you can use the method from the Sweater section above, which may be useful for particularly heavyweight sweatshirts.  

T-shirts

Image via Self Edge

Contrary to popular belief, t-shirts — especially high quality, 

loopwheeled

 t-shirts produced by the likes of 

Warehouse & Co.

, and 

The Flat Head

 — are 

technically

 knitwear, and therefore, should be treated as such. Lightweight knitwear, yes, but knitwear nonetheless.  

Corridor Pima T-Sirt Hanging on a coat hanger via Corridor NYC

A lot of the guidance given in the sweatshirts section should be applied here, but you can use a straight hanger if it’s nice and smooth, with no cut-outs or bumps intended for the small straps on womenswear. Knitwear hangers are optimal, as exhibited by Corridor above, but they do take up more space due to their curved shape.

If your wardrobe is heavily centered around basics like t-shirts, we’d suggest hanging them to keep them in prime condition. If you don’t have the space, folding is totally fine. Again, we would advise folding in the same way as guided in the shirting section above. Here’s that diagram again for convenience. 

Image via Nimble Made

Jackets and Coats

ts(s) Solotex Poly Stretch Corduroy Bomber Jacket via Namu Shop

We’ve all got a few different coats and jackets for different styles and weather needs. In the colder months, they’re typically the garment that’s most exposed to the elements, so caring for your jackets and coats is crucial to preserving their lifespan and handsomeness.

I think it’s fair to say that, unless you have a packable down coat, you shouldn’t really be folding your jackets and coats. Therefore, we’re going to skip folding and move straight to hanging, focusing on the different types of jackets and coats. 

Hanging Coats & Jackets

Firstly, the denim jacket. Denim is a pretty durable fabric, so the likelihood of getting shoulder nipples from a regular hanger is low. Pretty basic guidance here, but just hang up your denim jacket as you would normally. If you’re lacking space in your wardrobe, consider getting a standalone coat rack or cop a coat rack bar. 

Image via Etsy

For raincoats, macs, trenches, and other high-quality expensive coats, consider a regular high-quality walnut wooden hanger, or a coat hanger. Again, this’ll help to preserve the shape and stop the inner lining from getting damaged.Alternatively, if you’ve spent a good few pay cheques on a coat from Coherence, for example, you may want to invest in a foldable garment bag like this one from Division Road Inc. Pretty inexpensive for something that’s going to fully protect your coat. You wouldn’t store a Rolex in a napkin, would you? The same principle applies here. 

11 Oz. Black Oxford Garment Bag, available for $35 from Division Road Inc

Similar to shirts, I highly recommend fastening both jackets and coats before you hang them up. They tend to be heavier, and therefore, more likely to fall off the hanger if left unsecured. 

Down Coats & Jackets

For down coats, follow the above guidance, but incorporate some moth-repelling measures into your storage, as clothes moths feed on the keratin found in feathers and down.  

Formal Trousers

Ah, the dress pant. Now, you might be thinking: you just hang it up like you would a pair of jeans, just with a little bit more care and flair.Wrong. Don’t do that. Dress pants are a whole other beast. Due to the nature of the finer fabric, and the fact that dress pants often have a crisp crease running down the center of each leg, dress pants must be hung up in a particular way.  

Dress Pant Hanging Guide via The Art of Manliness

There are a few variations of doing it, but my favorite, and the one I’ve incorporated into my own folding routine, is from the Art of Manliness. And luckily, the Art of Manliness has been kind enough to provide its readers with a beautiful illustration and step-by-step guide to keep dress pants dressy.  

A Final Word

Like I said previously, everyone is going to have their own way of doing things. This guide is by no means definitive, and you don’t have to follow the above to the letter.The key is just being conscientious and looking after the garments you’ve worked hard to purchase in the first place. Once you have that down, the rest will fall into place.

Heddels+ content is intended for a single recipient, but occasional forwarding is totally fine!If you know of anyone who would be interested in joining Heddels+, they can head straight to heddels.plus to sign up or contact us anytime at [email protected].

Thanks for being a supporter!