Hang Time
Socialite Suzanne Saperstein outfitted her 3,000-square-foot walk-in closet with $30,000 in custom clothes hangers from 74-year-old Henry Hanger Company of America in Los Angeles. She clearly put a great deal of thought into the proper storage of her ball gowns, but many new retailers are so focused on buying clothes that they completely forget they need to hang them on something.
“It happens all the time,” says Henry Hanger Executive Vice President Astrid Spitz Metsos, who routinely fields calls from customers needing hundreds of hangers on short notice. “My father [company founder Bernard Spitz] used to say, ’What should come first always comes last.’”
Uniformity of hangers is key to making a store look polished and professional. Beyond that, it’s a question of what you’ll be hanging. Henry Hanger makes several hundred styles, ranging in price from 70 cents to about $35, in shapes that will hold everything from men’s suits to spaghetti-strap dresses. The full-body display hanger is a low-cost mannequin alternative that gives shape to a garment.
Almost any kind of custom request can be made, such as Ms. Saperstein’s request for triple-layer, fabric-covered hangers. But you’ll probably want a house-sized closet to hang them in. —Christian M. Chensvold
