Typical Clothes Hanger Dimensions

What are the Typical Clothes Hanger Dimensions?

Find out what the typical clothes hanger dimensions are to help you get the right hangers for hanging your clothes and keeping your closet organized.

If you’re upgrading or reorganizing your closet, choosing the correct hangers is an essential step. Coat hangers of the right size, shape, and material can save you space, keep your clothes in good condition, and create an attractive dressing space.

Let’s look at the typical coat hanger dimensions and why you need to know them.

The typical dimensions of a coat hanger are 17 inches wide and 9 inches high. Other standard hanger sizes include those for babies, children, oversized items, and extra-thick hangers. Material is as important as size in choosing hangers and depends on the clothes you need to hang.

Coat hangers may seem an odd item to put on your closet upgrade budget, but the way you store your clothes can impact your favorite items’ quality and life expectancy.

Creating a functional, beautiful space for your clothes – whatever your space and budget – will give you hours of pleasure and save you money in the long run.

The Typical Dimensions of a Clothes Hanger

Coat hangers come in standard sizes, usually measured in width.

A typical hanger for adult clothes is 17 inches (43 cm)  wide and 9 inches (22.86 cm) high. However, there is variation within this typical size range, from 16 to 21 inches in width and 8.8 to 9.45 inches tall.

A typical hanger for children’s clothes is 10 to 14 inches wide and 8 inches high.

The thickness of the hanger will depend on the materials used and will vary enormously from 0.8 inches to over an inch wide.

What are the Different Sizes of Coat Hangers Available?

Apart from the standard-sized coat hangers, hangers of several different sizes, shapes, and materials are available for every purpose.

This table summarizes the different sizes and materials of coat hangers. We’ll go into detail later.

Type of coat hanger	Dimensions width x height x thickness (inches)	Use
Standard – adult	17 x 9	Adult clothes
Standard – child	12 x 8	Children’s clothes
Standard – baby	10 x 8	Baby clothes
Petite	14 x 9	Teenagers and petite women
Wire	15.75 x 7.75 x 0.08	Lightweight clothes
Tubular plastic	16.5 x 9	Children’s and lightweight clothes
Non-slip plastic	17.5 x 9	Shirts, blouses, and dresses
Bamboo	17.5 x 9 x 1.5	Shirts, blouses, and dresses
Padded: satin, foam	15.5 x 9	Delicates, evening wear
Padded/non-slip: velvet	17.75 x 9.25 x 0.25	Delicates, evening wear
Wooden	17.2 x 8.9 x 0.5	Shirts, dresses, jackets
Oversized wooden	20 x 8.9 x 1	Plus-sized clothes, jackets, coats
Wide-shoulder wooden	17.7 x 9 x 2.5	Plus-sized clothes, jackets, coats, suits

What Coat Hangers Should I Use?

Choosing the correct coat hangers can mean the difference between a chaotic closet where your clothes are inaccessible, stretched, or crumpled – and the well-organized closet of your dreams.

There are two questions to consider when choosing coat hangers:

• What size coat hanger do I need?
• What is the best material for clothes hangers?

Let’s explore these aspects of coat hangers – who knew it could be so complicated!

What Size Coat Hanger Do I Need?

Coat hangers come in different sizes because people and their clothes have varying needs.

Choosing too narrow a coat hanger will cause your clothes to hang loosely, lose the shoulder line, and develop unsightly creases. Too large a coat hanger will stretch your clothes, deforming the shoulders, seams, and neckline.

The ideal hanger extends across the shoulders of the item to where the shoulder meets the sleeve. This measurement is called the point-to-point measurement.

To choose the correct hanger size, measure the width of your shoulders. Or measure the size of the clothing item directly across the back to where the shoulder meets the sleeve. This measurement is crucial for suits, jackets, and coats, which must retain their shape.

Most adults will need standard-sized 17-inch clothes hangers, but those wearing plus sizes will need 19-20 inches, while petites will need 14-14 inches in width.

The thickness of the hangers will depend on the weight of the clothes you want to hang up – choose hangers up 0.5 inches thick for lightweight garments, at least an inch thick for heavy garments, and two inches wide for broad shoulders.

Hangers of these dimensions will fit into a standard-sized closet, which is 24 inches deep.

Take care if you’re getting custom closets to make sure they are wide enough to take your hangers and that there is enough space on either side of the hanging rod for air to circulate and avoid mustiness.

What is the Best Material for Coat Hangers?

The best material for coat hangers depends on the clothing you need to hang and your budget. It’s no use blowing your budget on gorgeous velvet hangers and having no handles on the doors.

A Word About Wire Coat Hangers

First, a word about wire coat hangers: yes, these are inexpensive and often come free from the laundry or dry-cleaner.

However, wire hangers are too light for most clothes, bending as they hang over time. This distortion leads to creases and folds in your clothes.

Clothes can also snag on the wire or plastic covering, tearing, or running the fabric. If possible, avoid wire coat hangers.

What are the Best Coat Hangers for Dresses?

Plastic clothes hangers are a practical choice if you’re on a budget. Look, they’re not going to win your closet a style prize, but they are inexpensive and multipurpose.

Contoured tubular plastic hangers are ideal for lightweight dresses, and those with notch hooks on the side will stop your sundresses and slip dresses from sliding off. Look for the non-slip plastic hangers if possible.

If you can afford them, buy lightweight but sturdy bamboo or wooden hangers, which are more robust than plastic and offer the shoulder seams of your dresses more support to avoid pulling out of shape.

What are the Best Coat Hangers for Shirts and Blouses?

Tubular plastic hangers are also suitable for hubby’s button-down shirts and your denim and cotton blouses. Don’t be tempted to use wire hangers, thinking that shirts are lightweight enough. Nobody will thank you for bulges around the shoulders.

What are the Best Coat Hangers for Delicates?

Delicate items, such as lingerie, evening wear, silk or linen scarves and blouses, light knits, and beaded items need special care.

Using the correct hanger will extend their lifetime, so it’s worth investing in padded hangers. These hangers have extra foam to protect the clothes by distributing the weight over a wider area.

Satin hangers are an excellent choice, as the fabric is surprisingly non-slip, stopping your precious items from falling to the bottom of the closet. The soft material prevents snagging and tears.

For the ultimate in luxury, choose velvet hangers, which prevent stretching and slipping and are surprisingly sturdy, carrying up to 10 pounds. Velvet hangers are ideal for hanging vests, jumpsuits, and butter-soft T-shirts.

For a tie collection, choose a hanging velvet-lined tie organizer so that you can see all the ties at a glance and need not worry about them catching or stretching.

What are the Best Coat Hangers for Pants?

Pants, especially jeans, overalls, or corduroys, are heavy, so you need a strong hanger with a firm crossbar. Choose sturdy wooden hangers that can carry a folded pair of pants.

Avoid hangers with clips on their crossbar. These clips may seem convenient, but they can damage your clothes, leaving dents or tooth marks on your trousers.

What are the Best Coat Hangers for Suits, Jackets, and Coats?

Choose contoured, wishbone, or curved wooden hangers for the bulkier items in a wardrobe.

These hangers are thick, sturdy, and durable enough to support the heft of a coat or jacket and sustain the mold or shape of the tailored shoulders without breaking or bending over time.

For suits, choose wooden hangers with crossbars so that you can carefully fold and hang the pants with the jacket.

Wooden hangers can be pricey, but the investment is worthwhile for the protection they afford your more expensive clothing items.

Final Thoughts on the Different Coathanger Dimensions

The typical coat hanger dimensions are 17 x 9 inches, comfortably fitting in a standard-sized closet. You now know that smaller hangers for babies, children, teenagers, and petites are available, as are heftier hangers for bulkier items.

When choosing hangers, remember to focus on both size and materials so that your clothes are well-supported and will last as long as possible.

Did you find the information on the typical clothes hanger dimensions helpful? Leave your comment below.