Before the mid-aughts, I thought wigs looked stiff, costumey even. Then came lace-front wigs, which resemble hair growing out of your very own scalp. Tyra Banks and Beyoncé were early to wear lace-front wigs, and Cardi B, the Kardashians, and Nicki Minaj are among the many famous adopters. Like all of them, I use wigs to change my day-to-day looks. I bought my first lace-front wig about five years ago when I wanted to switch up my hair for my boyfriend’s fraternity initiation but didn’t have time to get a sew-in weave or to make clip-in extensions. So, I purchased a wig, and I haven’t been the same since.
Now, I own tens of wigs, which means I have to somehow store tens of wigs. Though wigs themselves have evolved, for a while the only storage solution available was the same one my older relatives used to use: Styrofoam mannequin heads. Eventually, tired of those heads cluttering my countertops, and tired of my friends screaming when they grabbed a wig instead of a hand towel in my bathroom, I set out to find a new system.
There are a handful of bizarre options out there: I tried color coded Ziploc bags, stuffed into the pockets of a shoe rack that hangs on my closet door. Sadly, crunching the hair into plastic bags compromised the wigs. Then I found a couple of options — like this wig tree and these wig sconces — that would be ideal for keeping the hairpieces is good condition, but would likely frighten company.
Finally, I stumbled upon these Dreamlover Wig Hangers while watching Jackie Aina on YouTube. Dreamlover has made wig accessories like wig stands for years, but this near-magical invention just came out in the past couple of years. The Dreamlovers are basically hangable wig stands that allow you to dangle your wigs from any rack or hook in your house. The structure of the hanger allows you to vertically stack multiple wigs, kind of like those clever hangers that allow you to store five pieces of clothing with one hanger.
The head-shaped mold maintains the structure of the wig, while the hanging design allows the hair to fall freely, preserving the style — curled wigs remain free of tangles, and straight hair stays smooth and sleek. I even use the hangers to air-dry my wigs after washing them. Plus, the Dreamlovers are collapsible and portable, which made it especially easy to pack them for a recent birthday trip to Las Vegas, where, as you might expect, many wig changes were in order.
More hanging devices for getting organized
For those who’d like to hang up all of their bras in one fell swoop, this contraption is a favorite on Amazon. Said one reviewer: “Where previously I might try to store bras in a drawer where they take up WAY too much space, or on a hanger that causes a disheveled mess, these are easy to use, keep them organized, and mean that less space is taken up in my closet.”
A while back, in search of the absolute best shoe organizer, the Strategist consulted with small-space specializing professional organizers. They guided Lauren Levy to the Whitmor’s over-the-door shoe rack — “the rare hanging option that doesn’t involve any pockets,” she wrote. “When similarly tilted racks sit on the floor, shoes without heels will often slide off, but here your door will prop up anything (like ballet flats) that can’t grip onto the coated metal bars. The rack carries 36 pairs; or, as the organizers advise, alternate the direction of every other shoe and you can fit an extra pair per shelf.”
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