....so, this blog tells the story of a very interesting object that we encounter every day. Some call it the wire coat hanger, others the wire clothes hanger, but its short name, which is massively used is simply the wire hanger. The etymology of the name is quite obvious and clear actually. It describes the material that it is made of (the wire), and the purpose it serves (the hanger). So it gets its name in a lot of languages just by translating this two words. Whether you call it a drahtbügel (ger), or cintre en fil de fer (fr), or even provolochnaya veshalka (ru), it is still a wire hanger you would be talking about.

And the funny thing is that it came into existence by accident. the story says that one ordinary worker by the name of Albert J. Parkhouse, in the distant 1903, didn't have a place for his coat in the factory he worked at, so he picked up a piece of wire and gave it the famouse shoulder-like shape with a hook, and hung his coat on it. The factory responsibles noticed it and thought it was a neat idea. They patented it into their own product and soon after it hit the world crowds. Parkhouse didn't get as rich as one would have imagined. Well, he wasn't given even one dollar, as the company took all the credit, but at least he gave something to the world.

After Prakhouse's invention and the booming increase of popularity of the wire hanger, a lot of other variations of the idea were made and patented as different inventions. A collection of fascinating models was made, untill the wire hanger reached the simplicity we know today.

Surprisingly, as simple as this object is, until today it has been given a variety of uses, and creativity never seizes to astonish us with all the possibilities that a wire hanger can give. Yes, its main purpose still is the hanging of our clothes, but beyond that, today we can see the wire hanger in places that we least expect it. People who get creative in their homes have found ways of twisting and turning and in a few easy steps reshaping it into something else, such as a newspaper holder. Artists that experiment in materials have found it to be perfect for their installations and sculptures. Scottish sculptor David Mach has done these marvels with it! The wire hanger has made it into the industrial design world, too. South Korean 101 design Studio has created a series of lighting fixtures while using wire hangers. The list is endless! Today we can even see it on stamps, the printing comapny Zazzle has issued a series of stamps with wire hangers. for an object that has no taste, no smell, no appealing site, it is amazing how much beauty can come out of it.

Apart from the experimental area, the wire hanger is constantly present in the high circles of society as a part of the fashion world. All the Haute Couture special pieces are hanging on one of these, waiting for their turn to be proudly presented to the rich and famous. Yes, there is a lot of pride in the wire hanger, and it is only growing as the elite is becoming more distinct of us, common mortals. Little do they know that they are commiting almost all of the seven deadly sins. It was also given bad publicity in the comic book series of Alan Robert, where the wire hangers is a symbol of horror. In fact, the wire hanger reached its very popularity as a pop-culture symbol, being a part of this elitist world, but unfortunately the role it was given was a very cheap one, playing the rejected object. In the movie Mommie Dearest, the scene with the wire hanger will be always remembered by the very dramatic phrase No Wire Hangers! Ever!!!!

Concept Map

  

 

The wire hanger is Superbia!

Superbia (or Pride), one of the seven deadly sins, that might be considered as the worse, since even Lucifer fell down from the heavens as his pride became bigger than God himself. Being proud means feeling superior over the others, feeling more important and always looking down on other people. The state of pride is usually in a tight connection with having abundance of material goods and riches, and feeling pity for those that do not have the same material status. And the symbol of the wire hanger comes in! Although it is a very common everyday object, it is closely associated with the fashion world, where the elite of rich and famous parade proudly with their haute couture, often surpassing morality, exaggerating with value and style. They could not have done all that without the help of the wire hanger, as it helps them carry all that over-prised clothes.

 

 

The fall of Lucifer because of his Superbia,

a sin that the even the wire hanger promotes.

  

Smell....

The wire hangers don't smell. Well, not unless you rub them with your fingers and make them release some of that metalic smell, like when holding your keys in your palm for some time, then the contact of the skin with the metal surface produces that recognizable metalic, iron odour. But the wire hanger will still not smell, your fingers will.

 

No More (Than 48) Wire Hangers! EVER!

For a long time has the wire hanger been a part of the crafts, as a material for lots of home made objects and art installations. But recently it has made it into the world of industrial design. South Korea-based collective 101 Design Studio has devised a clever way to recycle the hangers into a pretty slick-looking light. Available in two versions -- "48 Hanger" (rather than pendant) and "48 Stand" -- the lights use, as the names suggest, almost 50 discarded wire hangers to create a very modern shape oddly reminiscent of a more traditional lampshade.

 

 

A wire hanger story - No wire hangers ever!

The most famous wire hager story is a scene from the Frank Perry's movie Mommie Dearest, a 1981 biographical drama about Joan Crawford, starring Faye Dunaway. She plays the role of a rich lady from the high American society, thus detesting everything that is cheap, such as the wire hanger. In the most infamous scene of the film, Joan, with her face slathered in cold cream, stalks into Christina's bedroom in the middle of the night and discovers one of the child's dresses hanging on a wire hanger. She launches into a tirade, screaming at the girl, "I told you! No wire hangers, ever!" She yanks dresses from Christina's closet, throws them all over the girl's room and beats the screaming girl with the hanger.