Butler Luxury Wooden Hanger Review

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Several weeks ago, I was contacted by Mike Cregan, a 20+ year veteran of the hanger business, and the man behind Butler Luxury. He told me how much he liked our product reviews, which he felt were balanced and objective. This is certainly our goal with reviews. Mr. Cregan also expressed an interest in having a review done of his hangers, which I would like to share with you today.

Beautiful Chocolate Brown Finish of Butler Luxury
Beautiful Chocolate Brown Finish of Butler Luxury

Butler Luxury History

Mike Cregan has been making hangers for years in the wholesale business, for many designer brands, a few tailoring houses on Savile Row, and 5 star hotels such as the Dorchester, Claridge’sThe Connaught, and The Savoy.

While his business has been quite commercially successful, Mike has a deep-seated passion for wooden products in general. Hangers are of particular interest to him, and so he set out to produce a hanger to befit a bespoke suit. In his large-scale company, hundreds of thousands of wooden hangers are produced every month using CNC equipment, but since he wanted to provide a state of the art hanger, he opened a second factory were hangers are actually made entirely by hand, not just hand polished or finished.

Butler Luxury Matte Finish & Hand Made
Butler Luxury Matte Finish & Hand Made

In our conversations, it became evident that Mike’s primary focus is not necessarily the money; the goal to produce the best luxury hanger. Now, I have talked to many craftsmen, and many are quick to announce that they want to produce “the world’s best” product. In my experience, the proclaimer of this kind of statement offers little evidence to the fact and expects that their claims will go unresearched by a trusting customer. As such, I always seek to verify the claims of the producer, no matter how vehemently they are declared. Furthermore, the world is a big place, and the term “best” is usually applied subjectively.

Butler Luxury Hanger vs. Hanger Project Hangers

Butler Luxury Hanger Shoulder Pad
Butler Luxury Hanger Shoulder Pad

When it comes to luxury hangers in the US, the best-known brand was likely the Hanger Project. We reviewed these hangers a while back and found them to be good. Therefore, I used these hangers as a benchmark against which to test Butler Luxury Hangers. Shortly after my conversation with Mr.Cregan, I was provided with two Butler Luxury suit hangers and a trouser hanger in the mail.

The first thing I noticed when I took them out of the box was the excellent weight and the matte finish – but more about that later. First, let’s look at the similarities between the hangers.

Butler Luxury Hanger in Whiskey
Butler Luxury Hanger in Whiskey

Similarities & Differences

For our comparison, I chose the 18.5 inch Hanger from the Hanger Project and the 18″ Hanger from Butler Luxury, which measured both 18.5″ in width. Both hangers have a trouser bar and gold metal parts. Both were made in China: The Hanger Project hangers were made by Beverly Hangers and Butler Luxury in Mike Cregan’s own factory. Both are made of wood, but this is pretty much where the similarities end.

Beautiful Color Options
Beautiful Color Options

Wood & Shape

2-piece Construction of Shoulder Pad - Hanger Project
2-piece Construction of Shoulder Pad – Hanger Project

First let’s look at the wood. The Butler Luxury Hangers are made of 100% solid Grade A beech wood and each weighs 17 ounces. On the other hand, the Hanger Project weighs just 10.5 ounces and is made of solid maple wood. While the Butler Luxury Hangers have two arms that are made from two pieces of wood, the Hanger Project Hangers are made from 4 pieces of wood. This allows them to have wider shoulder pads, but it is also less expensive to produce since less wood goes to waste. Optically, you can see the wood grain on the Hanger Project Hanger is interrupted while the Butler Luxury grain is uniform.

Both have velvet trouser bars, and while the Hanger Project bars are slim and measure 16 1/4″ in length, the Butler Luxury bar is thicker with 13 5/8″ shorter length. To me, the bar of both is broad enough to accommodate even my fullest cut trousers; if own an unusually wide pair of pants, you may want to measure before you invest.

Thick, Velvet Trouser Bar
Thick, Velvet Trouser Bar

When comparing them side by side, you can see that the Butler Luxury hanger is more curved and has a slimmer, but thicker thick shoulder pad ( 2.5″ vs. 2. 1/8″). Compared to most shoulder pads of hangers, both are very wide in an effort to replicate the human shoulders, preventing puckering on the sleeve head. In theory, the wider shoulder pad of the Hanger Project is better, but in practice,

Side by Side Shoulder Pad & Trouser Bar comparison
Side by Side Shoulder Pad & Trouser Bar comparison

I could not determine any puckering on after using either brand. However, with larger gentlemen, I think a wider shoulder pad is better. However, bear in mind that wider pads also mean more wasted spaces in your closet. So, in the same space, you can either hang 4 Butler Luxury Hangers or 3 Hanger Project Hangers.

Trouser Hanger Side Vide
Trouser Hanger Side Vide

In terms of wood, I prefer the heftier Butler Luxury. Both are not suited for traveling because of their sheer size and bulkiness, but in the closet, I like the heavier wood. Regarding the shape, there is not a clear winner. You have to decide whether you want wider shoulder pads or more space to hang coats; you can’t have both.

Mike Cregan told me that Butler Luxury will release a number of different sizes and a different shoulder pad. Considering they are the manufacturer, changes like that can be made quite easily.

Workmanship & Finish

Top View Comparison - Hanger Project Is Bulkier
Top View Comparison – Hanger Project Is Bulkier

The construction of both hangers is way above average, but so is the price and hence that is a minimum expectation. Side by side, the Butler Luxury Hanger has a thicker hook and overall seems to be more solid. I consulted several carpenter friends as to which hanger was better made, and both indicated that the Butler Luxury.

In terms of aesthetics, the finish of the hangers had a big impact on desirability. In my opinion, shiny varnishes make wooden objects look cheap or dated, and this was one of the things I really disliked about the Hanger Project hangers. On the other hand, the Butler Luxury Hangers have a beautiful matte varnish that is applied by hand, and it looks far more attractive. Note that the picture on the Butler website makes the hangers look shiny, although they are not. For reference, use our pictures for a better idea of the true finish.

Rounder, Wide Shoulder Pad - Hanger Project
Rounder, Wide Shoulder Pad – Hanger Project

While the Hanger Project / Beverly Hangers are made by machine, the Butler Luxury hangers are made by hand. Therefore, the Hanger Project ones are uniform in shape, although the varnish varies in thickness between the hangers. Just as every handmade suit from a tailor is never exactly the same, none of the handmade Butler Luxury hangers match exactly. If you inspect them meticulously side by side, you can spot tiny differences but when they hang, you can never tell. Overall, this is a matter of preference.

Solid, One-Piece Shoulder Pad Construction - Butler Luxury
Solid Construction
Solid Construction

While the hook on the Hanger project is turned up and rounded, the Butler hook is cut straight and a little more pointy. The edges are not really rough and hence they will not damage to your garment. In terms of looks and function, I would probably prefer a ball head, which neither of them has, but Mike Cregan said they will probably add that soon – we will see.

Hanger Project (Made by Beverly Hangers) vs. Butler Luxury
Hanger Project (Made by Beverly Hangers) vs. Butler Luxury
Butler Luxury vs. Hanger Project Hanger Shape
Butler Luxury vs. Hanger Project Hanger Shape

Sizing & Color

Currently, Butler Luxury offers 16.5″ and 18″ hangers with more sizes to come in the near future. They also offer a two beautiful matte finishes in either walnut espresso or  butterscotch. The Hanger Project offers a brown, shiny varnish and a natural option for an upcharge of $15. At the end of the day, color and finishing are a matter of personal taste. Since nice hangers are an investment, it makes sense to choose carefully during your initial purchase.

Price

Three Butler Luxury Hangers will set you back $79 (plus shipping) while the Hanger Project charges $74.85 for the shiny varnish and $89.85 for a three-piece set in natural.

Hanger Project - Shiny Finish & Machine Made
Hanger Project – Shiny Finish & Machine Made

Both are not inexpensive, but they fall roughly in the same price range.

Conclusion

Overall, I prefer the Butler Luxury Hangers over the Hanger Project because of their superior workmanship, looks, and the fact that I can get more of them in my closet. However, if you have very wide shoulders and don’t mind the shiny varnish, the Hanger Project may be better for you at this point in time.

Hand Made Hanger - Butler Luxury
Hand Made Hanger – Butler Luxury

I look forward to seeing what other hangers Butler Luxury will come up with in the near future, so stay tuned.

Does Butler Luxury provide the best wooden luxury hangers  in the world? I do not know, but to me they are certainly the best suit hangers I have come across so far.

For more information, take a look at their website:

Caveat: After I had seen the hangers and was convinced of their quality, Butler Luxury decided to advertise with us. But as always, this did not have an influence on this review. For more information about our testing ethics, read our Manifesto.

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