How to hang up dress pants

This is the first technique for learning how to hang up dress pants. The easiest way to hang them up is to use a normal hanger. Once you’ve got your hanger at the ready, simply follow these steps:

1. The first thing to do is find the crease in the legs and lay them flat on a folding table or on the bed.
2. Next, take the top pant leg and fold it up towards the waist of the pants.
3. Place the coat hanger on the bottom leg, hook side facing the leg opening.
4. Fold the bottom leg over the rung of the coat hanger and pull it through the hanger.
5. Place the leg opening against the crotch seam and press it flat.
6. Take the top pant leg and also pull it through the coat hanger. While holding the top leg, grab the coat hanger by the hook, pick both up, and let the pant leg drop.
7. Now all you need to do is straighten out the legs. Make sure the crease in the pants is aligned with the fold on the clothes hanger. Lining up the pant legs with one another will make the creases symmetrical.

It is also possible to hang your dress pants up by crossing over the pant legs across the hanger because their weight and friction will keep them in place – this is known as the Savile Row technique! To protect your fabric, it might be worth your while to buy padded hangers or to stick velvet or moleskin across the area your pants will be hung up. Just make sure the glue is dry before hanging up your pants.

Are you still not satisfied with how your dress pants are hanging or are worried they’ll slip off the hanger at any minute? Here are a few household items you can use to prevent this.

• Clip or clamps but bear in mind these can leave marks so only place them where indentations will be hidden.
• Felt pads that are usually used for furniture can come in handy. Stick one on either arm of your hanger to stop the dress pants from slipping off. Rubber bands can be a good alternative if you don’t have any spare felt pads.
• Foam tubing covering the hanger’s cross bar will prevent indentations in your pants as well as providing friction to keep them from slipping off.

Now you know how to hang up dress pants, you might be wondering why it’s better to hang them up rather than fold them. This depends on the fabric, so let’s take a look at when to hang and when to fold pants.

It is unlikely that you’ll have to fold your dress pants rather than hang them up. This might happen if you don’t have anywhere to hang your dress pants, in which case you should try and minimise the folds in your pants and the pressure put on them in storage. This will help minimise the creases in the fabric. 

This is best done for materials such as wool, linen, silk, or other natural fabrics – probably what your dress pants are made of. This is because these fabrics crease more easily, meaning that you’d have to iron them all over again when you want to wear them.

Tip: Unfortunately, moths love expensive fabrics like wool and silk, so even though a closed closet offers some protection, consider taking anti-moth measures to ensure that your properly hung up dress pants don’t get ruined by these insects!

We mentioned it before but you wouldn’t want to go to all of this trouble to hang your dress pants right if you hadn’t washed them right in the first place. With delicate material, we recommend using a cold wash and a strong working detergent like Cold Power. Not only will the temperature look after the shape of your pants it’s also good for the planet.

For other folding tips, we have an article on how to fold a fitted sheet that you might find useful. Remember to sign up to Ask Team Clean while you’re browsing!