At one time coat racks were very simple affairs. They were a tall, post-like rack that had three or four pegs or posts to hold your coat and your fedora or bowler. While the fedora and bowler have gone the way of the stand-up collar in the fashion world, coat racks and hooks continue to be popular in American homes.

There’s a good reason for that, too. Even in the most temperate climates in the country, there are times when you need a coat, if only a light windbreaker to brave a sudden squall or flee from a coming tropical storm.

While you could conceivably keep coats in a closet, that’s hardly the handiest place to keep them, especially when you return from walking the dog or fetching the paper, soaked to the bone, your coat dripping wet.

It’s times like these that wall coat racks or tree coat racks are a godsend in the home. Instead of dragging the soggy outerwear through the home, you can hang it on the rack to dry.

These racks come in particularly handy in the winter, when you not only have coats, but mittens, stocking hats and scarves that are covered with sleet, snow and ice. No one in their right mind wants all this tracked and dragged through the house. And rather than allow it all to end up in a pile by the door, a rack for coats offers your family members a quick and easy place to drop off their stuff before going down the hall to play indoors on a snowy or rainy day.