Thread: Looking for advice on identifying and repairing a clothes valet.

I have an old clothes valet (see Clothes valet on Wikipedia ) which belonged to my grandfather. Unfortunately my grandparents has passed away and nobody now alive remembers where it was bought. The clothes valet seems to be without a brand / logo, and is probably a rather basic model. It also is missing some pieces.

I want to restore / repair it and use it daily to honor my grandfather. I can not find any suitable internet forum however where I can find information about what brand/kind it might be and how to restore it properly. Does anyone have an idea of where to ask?

Trying to find information about it online I found an image of one that I am quite sure is the same model as the one I have, although mine has a different color and some pieces missing. Mine is missing the top hanger for a jacket and also the metal rod with black sphere ends.

The image I found online (not of the one I own) is below. The website is in Swedish and has no more information listed than the title (translated) "Clothes valet England". ( Herrbetjänt England )

This seems to be very nice clothes valet you have there and it looks like it doesn't need much work to do. Sorry i cannot say anything about the origins or age of your valet. These items are still somewhat common on estate auctions and flea markets.

Is the whole frame made of wood or is there any larger frame parts made of metal? That would tell something about the age.

The question is: do you want just to repair it, restore it or make it look like new? The picture doesn't tell if it is broken or are there just usual wear.

I would leave it as it is, or fix anything that is strictly broken, but it is up to you of course. Old items sometimes decrease their value if they are fixed to look like new.

I am not familiar enough with a clothes valet to know what might be missing. If you keep an eye on ebay you may see a photo of a similar valet that would give you references to the parts missing. Worse comes to worse you might have a local wood or metal worker make the needed parts to restore it.