There’s no better feeling than coming up with a simple solution to a problem that has been vexing you for a while. It’s a mixture of relief from eliminating the problem, plus the satisfaction of having come up with a solution all on your own!
However, I know I won’t single-handedly solve every one of life’s little problems, so I’m always willing to defer to the real pros when the situation calls for it! Today’s post is a great example of one such situation.
My husband was struggling with a tricky pants-related problem (more on that shortly), but I wasn’t sure what the best solution would be. So after a bit of Google research, I ended up discovering a professional tailors’ trick that solved his problem perfectly! So today I’ll be sharing the whole problem-solving saga with you: the problem, the simple solution, and how you can put it to work in your own closet! :-)
The Problem: Pants That Slide Off Hangers
We have a thousand plastic hangers in the house (or it feels like it anyway), so Dave usually just folds his work slacks over the bar of a plastic hanger. The problem is that even a light breeze will send those slippery slacks sliding right off the smooth plastic hanger.
So Dave was regularly waking up and finding one or two pairs of his nicely pressed slacks in a crumpled pile on the floor. (Cue the requisite “sad trombone” sound—click here to get the full effect.)
Neither of us were sure of how to solve this particular problem, short of replacing all his hangers with more expensive ones. But luckily, we managed to find the PERFECT solution, and we didn’t have to spend a dime on it!
The Solution: The “Savile Row Fold”
The solution was so brilliantly simple (or perhaps so simply brilliant,) that I wish I would have thought of it myself. It’s called the Savile Row fold, named for the expert tailors of Savile Row in London who have used this hanging method for years.
The Savile Row fold might have stayed a tailor’s-only secret had Esquire not gotten involved. They included the fold in their 2009 mens’ style guide titled The Handbook Of Style: A Man’s Guide to Looking Good. And I’m glad they did, because this fold eventually found its way onto the internet and into our lives.
Check out the simple three-step process below for an explanation of how it works.
How To Hang Pants With The Savile Row Fold
Step 1 – Start by holding the pants upside down, with the legs straddling the hangers. You should hold one pant leg in each hand.
Step 2 – Fold one pant leg through the hanger. Then pull it down until the bottom hem of the pant leg is resting just above the crotch of the pants.
Step 3 – Fold the second leg over the the hanger so that it rests on top of the first leg. Then give the hanger a shake—and watch in awe as the pants stay firmly in place! ;-)
My husband has been using the Savile Row fold ever since I came across it, and he is much happier for it! He doesn’t have to dig through a pile of slacks on his closet floor to find what he needs, because they actually stay put on the hangers—how about that?
Do you know of any brilliant hanging or folding hacks?