17 April

I love the look of vintage advertising hangers, the graphics, the patina, and the history, it's all so fun to me.

I wish that advertising these days was done more on reusable items instead of junk flyers and mass mailings.

I have a small collection of vintage advertising hangers and I'll admit, they are kind of awkward to display so I wanted to share some ideas that I found for displaying them and other things to use them for.

Collecting Vintage Advertising Hangers

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History

Hangers have been around since the 1800s when Victorian women’s bustles and skirts had special storage needs. The hangers back then had various kinds of adjustable parts and spring systems.

Source: Unknown

They evolved from there to include folding travel hangers and some with extra little hooks for belts.

Tailors and clothing merchants soon discovered that hangers would be a good way to advertise their businesses, and from there evolved the wooden advertising hanger!

As I said before, the colors and graphics on those old hangers are sometimes so pretty, but how can you display them?

Display Ideas

Here is how I've displayed mine over the years.

You'll have to excuse the terrible picture. This was way back in my early days of blogging and my laundry room at that time was in the basement so the lighting was terrible. But I wanted to share it anyway because it's a cute idea 😏

They make a unique window valance and they are so easy to hang since they have a built-in hanger. Just hang them over the curtain rod or use tiny nails if you don't have a curtain.

I displayed them inside the open shelving at my last house. You can see that laundry room here: Laundry Room Redo - Final Reveal

Then I redid that laundry room and hung them on the wall for a while. You can see that laundry room makeover here: Laundry Room Makeover

In my laundry room at this house, they are hanging in groups from the shelf brackets above the washer and dryer.

I also have some newer wire hangers with paper covers that have some fun advertising on them.

Here is a unique idea, display them on a headboard! The hangers in the picture are antique, but vintage wooden advertising hangers would look cool this way too.

Source: from Bachman's Summer Idea House Itsy Bits and Pieces

Aside from the obvious… using them to hang your clothes or displaying them, here are a few ideas for repurposing a vintage advertising hanger.

Repurposing Ideas

Add some hooks and use one to hold your jewelry.

Source: The Potting Shed - Anything Goes Here

Source: Unknown

If you have a small window, use one to hang a curtain!

There are also a couple hanging from the old bed frame holding headphones and earbuds.

Source: Funky Junk Interiors

Turn them into newspaper or magazine racks.

Source: Style Motivation

Use them in the bathroom to hold towels.

Source: Style Motivation

Source: Country Living - link no longer valid

Where to Find Them

Estate sales are an excellent place to find vintage advertising hangers.
Find them on Etsy
Find them on eBay
Find them hidden in crochet hangers

Source: eBay

I hope you enjoyed this post and got some ideas 😊

Comments by Blogger

Kim@Snug HarborApril 18, 2014
I love these hangers and just picked up a nice one at an estate sale. I just hung it on the wall, but some of these ideas are great. Thanks for the tip about the crocheted ones. I'd have never thought to look under the yarn!
Vicky HuntApril 18, 2014
These are really cool. I have never found any, but I will be looking for them now. I have never even thought about looking under the crochet to see what type of hanger might be underneath. I'll remember that tip! Hope you havea wonderful Easter weekend...Vicky
UnknownApril 19, 2014
So awesome! My favorite is using them to hang towels!
schulmanartApril 20, 2014
this was a really fun blog post. I never thought about the genesis of hangers. I love the way you curate all the neat ways to use hangers for home decor!
UnknownApril 21, 2014
Very creative!
UnknownApril 10, 2016
Do you know when do the hangers at the beggining date? Thank you!