How to hang skirts and dresses so they're ready to wear

Plaid skirt season comes with a familiar problem. The skirt you planned to wear has a hard crease across the middle from being folded over a hanger bar. The dress beside it slipped off its hanger last week and has been on the closet floor ever since. The long one is bunched up against the bottom of the closet.

Skirts and dresses wrinkle and slip more than anything else in the closet, and most of it comes down to how they’re hung. One afternoon takes care of it.

Skirts hang by the waistband

Folding a skirt over the bar of a hanger puts a crease right across the front. Hang it by the waistband instead, from a hanger with clips.

• Clip at the side seams, where a faint clip mark won’t show.
• Zip and button it first, so the waistband holds its shape and the skirt hangs straight.
• Line up pleats before you clip, so they hang in their folds instead of twisting.
• Hang heavy wool and corduroy skirts from a clip hanger with a firm grip, so their weight doesn’t pull them out of the clips.

Dresses hang from the shoulders, unless they stretch

Woven dresses in cotton, wool, silk or polyester belong on a hanger with shoulders. Velvet hangers grip the fabric, so dresses stay put instead of sliding off, and many have notches for thin straps.

Fasten the top button or close the zipper before you hang a dress, so the neckline doesn’t slip off one side.

Knits are the exception. Sweater dresses and stretchy jersey dresses lose their shape on a hanger as the weight pulls them down over weeks. University of Kentucky Extension recommends storing most knits and stretchy items folded on a shelf or in a drawer, and keeping hangers for clothes that are made to hang. Fold knit dresses in thirds and store them on a shelf.

Give long pieces the long side

Most closets have one rod at one height, which wastes the space under every short piece. A closet doubler puts that space to work. It hooks over the existing rod and adds a second rod below it.

Put skirts and tops on the two levels on one side. Leave the other side full length for dresses, maxi skirts and coats, so their hems hang free instead of folding against the floor.

Matching hangers save space

A rod of mixed hangers, some wire, some plastic, some wood, takes up more room than it needs to and makes hems hang at different heights. Slim velvet hangers in one style take less space, keep everything level and make the closet look orderly. Switch over a few at a time if you like, starting with dresses.

Take off the plastic from the dry cleaner

Dry-cleaning bags are for the trip home. University of Kentucky Extension advises against storing clothes in plastic bags, because plastic can hold in moisture and lead to mildew. It also recommends making sure freshly laundered or dry-cleaned clothes are completely dry before they go back in the closet.

For a dress that will hang for months between weddings or holidays, use a breathable cotton garment bag instead. It keeps off dust and still lets air through.

Air it before it goes back

The same extension guide says to air clothing after wearing it and before it’s stored, and to never store clothing dirty, because soil and stains attract insects. After you wear a skirt or a dress, hang it on a hook or the back of the bedroom door overnight. In the morning, check for spots, then put it back in the closet or in the laundry.

The afternoon reset

Set aside two hours for the whole job.

1. Pull every skirt and dress out of the closet and lay them on the bed.
2. Check each one: zipper, buttons, hem, stains. Anything that needs a repair or a cleaning goes in a bag by the door for the tailor or the dry cleaner.
3. Fold the knit dresses and move them to a shelf or a drawer.
4. Hang the doubler on one side of the rod.
5. Clip skirts by the waistband and hang them on the doubler, grouped by color or by season.
6. Hang woven dresses on velvet hangers on the full-length side.
7. Put special-occasion dresses in garment bags at the end of the rod.

What to actually buy

The skirt hangers. A 12-pack of HOUSE DAY black velvet skirt hangers with adjustable clips that slide along the bar, so they fit a narrow waistband or a wide one.

The dress hangers. A 30-pack of HOUSE DAY velvet hangers, slim and non-slip, with grooves on each shoulder for thin straps and a hook that turns, in black velvet with a silver hook, from the same brand as the skirt hangers.

The doubler. A Simple Houseware adjustable closet rod in chrome that hooks over your existing rod with no tools. It expands from 18 to 30 inches wide, and the height adjusts in 1-inch steps.

The garment bag. A 42-inch garment bag in natural 100 percent cotton, breathable, for dresses that hang for months between occasions. It fits a knee-length dress, and floor-length gowns need a longer bag.

Who this is not for

• If most of what you own is long dresses, skip the doubler. It only helps when half the rod is short pieces.
• If your skirts come out of a drawer smooth and ready, keep folding them.
• If a dress is vintage, beaded or very heavy, ask your dry cleaner how they’d store it before you hang it.

Start on any Monday

This week, count your skirts and dresses so you know how many hangers to order, and measure the width of the closet rod for the doubler.

On the weekend, do the afternoon reset. After that, every skirt goes back by its waistband, and the plastic from the dry cleaner comes off the day it comes home.