Haute Thoughts by Heidi Dillon: The Hanger Project
Please excuse the old movie cliche, but, ladies please, no more wire hangers! Let’s face it, we all spend a fortune on our beloved wardrobes, so doesn’t it make sense to spend a little extra to take care of them? Though I live in a rather large modern home and am well-known for my insatiable appetite for apparel, my closet space is pathetic. Large closets, as it turns out, are not part of the modernist aesthetic, nor were they part of my husband’s budget. He mistakenly thought that if the closets were small, I would purchase fewer clothes. It gets even worse. I actually share a closet in the master bedroom with my husband. This arrangement is frequently awkward because it is difficult to conceal recent acquisitions and my husband has developed an eagle eye for what’s new and what’s not. (My definition of “new” is something that is still in the store. The minute it is hung in your closet, you can technically answer “no” when your husband asks you “is that new?”) In addition to being a clothes horse, as my mother used to say, I am an organization freak.
Personally, I like to hang things according to designer, which doesn’t
produce the best look in the closet, but that’s how I think about
things. When I am getting dressed I think “I’ll wear the Jil Sander
black stretch pants with the Prada jacket, etc.” I like to have
everything buttoned, zipped and facing the same direction and I hang
things according to color within the designer categories. (I really
have to come up with a way to label each section because my maid, who
can’t tell an Oscar from a McQueen, always puts things in the wrong
place which really confuses me). Until recently I have use all black
plastic hangers that I get at a retail display store but always dreamed
of the perfect hanger. Then a few months ago I met an adorable Dallas
entrepreneur named Kirby Allison who started a company called The
Hanger Project. Kirby’s mission is simple: collaborate with those who
engage in dressing well to design a hanger of both superior style and
function. He believes that a hanger should be as beautiful as it is
functional. Kirby has worked with tailors, dandies and fashionistas to
come up with the perfect hanger. All of his hangers are constructed
from the finest solid maple available and will protect and prolong the
life of your clothes. You can stock up on Kirby’s fabulous hangers at
