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How to store dress slacks

JFK

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I've read/heard several conflicting recommendations on how to store dress slacks, and I'm interested in hearing what method the men here prefer (I searched all the fora for a thread about this topic, but didn't find any...). Do you store your dress slacks: A) folded in a drawer B) folded at the knee and hanging on the cross-bar of a suit hanger C) hanging full length (held at either the waist or the cuffs; please specify) from a hanger with clips on the cross-bar D) hanging full length (held at the waist or the cuffs; please specify) from a "trouser clamp"-style hanger E) some other way (please elaborate)? (If you're not sure what I meant by one or more of those choices, examples can be seen on this page.) Also, if you think it'd be worthwhile; why do you store them the way you do? TIA for your help. Kevin
 

FIHTies

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Personally, mine get folded at the knee and hung. I think that the advantage to that is the retention of the crease as the weight of the pant keeps it sharp. hoever the downside is if they stay that way for extended periods of time they may gain a slight crease of its own at the knee, which can be ironed out.

In my 10 years working in a clothing store (Children's and young adults) I dont recall them being stored or hung any other way. Even my new line of Mid Range Italian Suits for adults arrives hung at the knee.

If you decided to hang them full length I would recommend hanging from the cuff as the weight of the waist stands a chance of keeping the crease crisp.

I have never seen them hung cuff or waist with clips. Only with a padded pant hanger.

BTW: Are we talking long term storage or from wear to wear?
 

imageWIS

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How to store pants? That's easy. Just chuck them into the closet and hope for the best.
biggrin.gif
Seriously, I hang them full length from the cuff on a padded hanger. As I use my pants often enough, and they are rotated, this seems the best way to keep the crease in the pants without the necessity to iron the new crease incurred when they are folded over a hanger. Jon.
 

acole

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Partly B, partly E, I think. Â I use several of those 5-tiered hangers with the foam-coated swing arms. Â The pants are folded at the knee, but they aren't clamped in place like they are on a suit hanger, only held by friction. Â This seems to produce less creasing than the suit hanger method does, especially if you can get one with large-radius crossbars. Â It isn't perfect in that regard, though, and it can be a bit tedious to liberate a pair from the bottom of one of these trees, and to hang it up properly again. If I had unlimited closet space I might go for your methods C or D, but I just don't have room for that right now.
confused.gif
Did I just write two paragraphs about hanging trousers in a closet?
 

FIHTies

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How to store pants? That's easy. Just chuck them into the closet and hope for the best.
biggrin.gif
Hey...Thats what my cleaning lady does.
biggrin.gif
But isnt it fun when you thought that you hung them nicely and then when you need them you see that they got folded under and now have a really ugly crease right accross the back of the knee? Or when your lapel from your suit was bent out cause someone (aforementioned cleaning lady) stuck something in the closet without moving things over... And havent you noticed that the probability of THAT happening is when you are late for a meeting and were counting on a freshly pressed suit... I LOVE when that happens.
 

JFK

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In my 10 years working in a clothing store (Children's and young adults) I dont recall them being stored or hung any other way. Even my new line of Mid Range Italian Suits for adults arrives hung at the knee.
I've noticed the same thing, but have often wondered if that might be more for the convenience of the store than because it's the best thing for the slacks...
If you decided to hang them full length I would recommend hanging from the cuff as the weight of the waist stands a chance of keeping the crease crisp.
You have a good point about hanging them from the cuff when hanging them full-length; I've been doing that with my dress slacks for some time. It just occurred to me that maybe there are good reasons that i'm not aware of not to do it that way.
BTW: Â Are we talking long term storage or from wear to wear?
The question applies to either between-wearings or long-term storage; sorry I didn't specify. Thanks for taking the time to answer.
 

JFK

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How to store pants? That's easy. Just chuck them into the closet and hope for the best.
biggrin.gif
Seriously, I hang them full length from the cuff on a padded hanger. As I use my pants often enough, and they are rotated, this seems the best way to keep the crease in the pants without the necessity to iron the new crease incurred when they are folded over a hanger. Jon.
I've tried both ways, Jon (except I've been using hangers with clips on the cross-bar to hold them); I think the second way is better...
smile.gif
Thanks for the input.
 

JFK

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If I had unlimited closet space I might go for your methods C or D, but I just don't have room for that right now.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending...), space is not an issue for me at this point; my closet is about 12' X 4', and it's not half full yet...
confused.gif
Did I just write two paragraphs about hanging trousers in a closet?
Yeah, looks that way Â
smile.gif
Thanks.
 

JFK

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And havent you noticed that the probability of THAT happening is when you are late for a meeting and were counting on a freshly pressed suit...
Murphy's Law.
wink.gif
 

Carlo

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Full length from the cuff with a wooden pants hanger that has felt on the inside.

Typically I'll hang up several at once, use the steamer and a little fabreze and hang them loosely for a day or two before they return to the closet.

Buy a steamer and save dry cleaning for when it NEEDS doing - drycleaning pants that aren't dirty wears them out.
 

JFK

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Full length from the cuff with a wooden pants hanger that has felt on the inside.

Typically I'll hang up several at once, use the steamer and a little fabreze and hang them loosely for a day or two before they return to the closet.

Buy a steamer and save dry cleaning for when it NEEDS doing - drycleaning pants that aren't dirty wears them out.
thanks for the tip, Carlo - what kind of steamer are you referring to?
 

Carlo

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Do an ebay search for Jiffy Steamer. The 2000-M has a metal head on it - plastic starts to degrade after enough steam hours.

For what it is worth... spending 160 once on one of these will save you $50/month in drycleaning for ..pretty much eternity when used for personal use. Wrinkles will drop out in about 30 seconds after it heats up (less than a minute).

Sooooo many people dryclean their suits and trousers way toooo much. Use a clean towel and water to remove most spots, steam out your suit and brush it off then hang it loosely for a day before sticking it in the closet. A good suit has an unlimited number of wearings really - drycleaning is what kills'm dead.

Steam relaxes the natural fibers and they return to their normal shape...works on ties, drapes etcetera too :)
 

Stu

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Do an ebay search for Jiffy Steamer.  The 2000-M has a metal head on it - plastic starts to degrade after enough steam hours.

For what it is worth... spending 160 once on one of these will save you $50/month in drycleaning for ..pretty much eternity when used for personal use.  Wrinkles will drop out in about 30 seconds after it heats up (less than a minute).

Sooooo many people dryclean their suits and trousers way toooo much.  Use a clean towel and water to remove most spots, steam out your suit and brush it off then hang it loosely for a day before sticking it in the closet.  A good suit has an unlimited number of wearings really - drycleaning is what kills'm dead.

Steam relaxes the natural fibers and they return to their normal shape...works on ties, drapes etcetera too :)
Carlo: Can't you do the same thing by hanging them up in the bathroom, turning on the hot shower and shutting the door? I did that to some suits when I moved back the U.S. and they were all wrinkled. It worked marvelously. Steamed them for about 15 minutes and all the wrinkles went away and left the suits smelling fresh and clean.
 

BGW

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Can anyone comment on the value of a steamer for de-wrinkling cotton? Im thinknig dress shirts and khakis here. Not that I would wear khakis...
wink.gif
 

Carlo

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Stu I am ashamed of you - we share many ebay customers and I can't believe you don't have one... power seller to power seller - get one buddy.


Works fine on cotton and even linen - any natural fibre does well with a little steam.

And Stu - yes, back when I was travelling 5 cities per week I did the same thing to get things right after the rollaboard wrinkled them. The professional steamer works in about 2 minutes for a badly wrinkled suit.

I've even found that with a light 'fabrezing', quick steam and hanging a suit in the bathroom for a day or so you can get the delightful ashtrayesque odor of bar-smoke to go away.

I'm tellin ya, I do not sell steamers but I am a big fan (Good God I am so easily entertained)
 

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