There are some products on the market that no one actually needs, but owning one will instantly improve your quality of life. Reader, an LG Styler is one of those products. It is completely unnecessary, and yet I now can’t imagine life without it.
If you haven’t encountered a steam wardrobe before, then that is extremely understandable because it’s a very niche product. What it is, is a small wardrobe in which you can place a few articles of clothing to be steamed or pressed. It’s where you would put clothes that aren’t clean enough to go in the regular wardrobe, but aren’t dirty enough to be washed, or an outfit that you took out of storage and want to refresh before wearing to work. You could press your pants in there to get creases without having to wield an iron.
I first fell in love with the concept with an older Samsung AirDresser, and this LG Styler takes it to the next level.
LG Styler review
LG Styler first impressions
My first impression of LG’s steam closet is that it’s large and vaguely green. You can get versions of the steam closet with a mirrored door, which I think I prefer because then it serves a double purpose. In my small apartment, this large, green monolith makes quite the statement. In a larger bedroom, where this was built into a full wardrobe setup, it would blend perfectly.
The LG Styler also comes with a lot of accessories. As I said earlier, my previous steam wardrobe experience was with the 2022 model Samsung AirDresser, which came with almost no accessories. This LG Styler has a little removable shelf for shoes, and a pants press built into the door. It’s been very thoughtfully designed for all the ways you might want to use it.
LG Styler specifications
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | (W) 600 x (H) 1960 x (D) 605 mm 100kg |
| Capacity | Five items and one pair of pants |
| Display | Full Touch LED + Hidden Display |
| Drying type | Ventless with Inverter HeatPump System |
| Programs | Refresh: Heavy/Light/Normal Special Care: – Sports Wear – Suits/Coats – Wool/Knit – School Uniform Sanitary: – Normal – Fine Dust – Heavy Duty Gentle Dry: – Dehumidify – Normal – Time Dry More settings via the LG ThinQ app |
| Price (RRP) | $3,299 |
| Warranty | Two years parts and labour Further eight years for the Inverter Compressor |
| Official website | LG Australia |
While the size is somewhat imposing, I think it strikes the right balance. You can get versions that will only steam three garments if you have limited space, but five seems to be the sweet spot.
One thing I found interesting was the number of settings. The number of settings on my old Samsung AirDresser was quite limited, though the new AirDresser has significantly more up-front options narrowed down by fabric type.
This LG Styler is somewhere between the two, with the most noticeable missing settings being leather and silk. This more slimmed-down settings list looks less daunting, so you’re not confronted with so many options every time you want to refresh your suit for work, but you can still get the same cycles through the app.
Connecting the Styler to the LG ThinQ smartphone app means you can download extra cycles, like fur/leather care, blanket warm-up, doll sterilisation (very handy for parents), jean care, silk care, static removal, and baby clothing sterilisation.
Another thing the LG Styler has over the competition is that all the hangers are jiggled to get the wrinkles out. There is a very funny video on the LG website you can watch to see this demonstrated, but it’s really effective. We no longer own an iron, because why would we need one when we can just throw our clothes in the Styler?
Design aesthetics
It’s clear that the designers of the LG Styler were very aware that this was going to be a design piece in people’s bedrooms and dressing rooms. Sure, it’s a dark green monolith, but it also has impeccable lines. The way the controls disappear when the machine is off means it blends better into any room.
This device was made for interior designers with eccentric spectacles to select for their well-to-do clients. Sure, it was originally invented for businessmen to use in karaoke bars in Korea, but it may as well have been custom-designed for contestants on The Block to win Bedroom Week.
Although I think it would have been better with a mirrored front, that won’t work as well in all rooms as a dark monolith does. It looks beautiful, and somehow both imposing and subtle. That’s a tough line to walk.
How form aids function
Being beautiful is no good if it’s not also functional. Luckily, the Styler is all about function. I complained above that there aren’t as many options on the machine as there are on the Samsung AirDresser, but it’s not all bad. Stripping back the on-device options not only makes the machine look a bit less busy, but also makes it less intimidating for those who don’t want to be overwhelmed with choice when they’re steaming their work clothes first thing in the morning.
The way the hangers are designed to jiggle is so simple yet elegant, making a meaningful difference to how wrinkled the clothes are. The pants press in the door could perhaps be a little more user-friendly, but it’s a fantastic idea to take full advantage of the space and acknowledge all the different ways someone might want to refresh their clothes.
I particularly appreciate the inclusion of the shelf, which allows you to refresh your shoes, or sanitise a child’s doll. You know how slippers say they’re machine washable, but machine washing will usually destroy them? Popping them in the wardrobe on a Sanitary cycle will make them nice again without killing them. Assuming you didn’t spill anything on them and they just have a general grossness rather than a specific grossness, that is.
Everything that’s in this LG Styler earns its place. In my month of using it, there hasn’t been a single time where I thought “I wish it could do…” without then discovering that it was a downloadable program, or finding another easy solution.
Cleaning and refreshing performance
I have a long leather coat (yes, I did go to high school in the early 2000s). Storing that coat at my father’s place for 15 years made it get a bit mouldy and gross in a few spots. After using leather conditioner, and spot treating the mouldy sections, it was much better. However, it still wasn’t quite right, and I haven’t yet found a good dry cleaner in my local area. Putting that coat in the wardrobe on the dehumidify leather care cycle wasn’t the same level of care it would have gotten at a good dry cleaner, but it did come out of there soft and feeling much more like it did when I was 18 and wearing it every day.
There was a formal event a few weeks ago, and I chose to wear a three-piece woollen suit I hadn’t worn in years. The creases had gotten messed up on the pants, and it just had that general “stored for too long” vibe. After taking the time to place the pants perfectly in the pants press in the door, I put it in the wardrobe on the suits/coats setting, and it came out looking like it was fresh from the dry cleaner.
The LG Styler isn’t a proper alternative to a dry cleaner or a washing machine, but it’s ideal for those times when an outfit just needs a bit of a zhuzh. I haven’t yet had a bad experience with it. The Styler is not a miracle worker, but it is much less lazy than I am, and that’s enough.
Who is the LG Styler for?
Rich people, fashion enthusiasts, and lazy people in the middle of a renovation. Really, everyone would benefit from having a steam wardrobe, because it just makes your clothes nice and requires almost no effort.
If you’re going on a date and want to look like you’ve ironed your shirt, but don’t have time, you just put it in the wardrobe. A job interview where you have to look nice but don’t have time for the dry cleaner? Put it in the wardrobe. About to head out on a cold day in the middle of winter? Put your clothes in the wardrobe to get clothes that feel fresh from the dryer, but without all the electricity usage. Getting out of the shower and putting on PJs fresh from the LG Styler on a cold night is one of life’s little luxuries that you just can’t beat.
But, it’s expensive, and it is a luxury. If you’re renovating your wardrobe area and have the cash, though, then it’s a no-brainer. You don’t need it, no one needs it, but you’ll really want it, and once you use it you can’t go back.
The post LG Styler review: ultimate luxury for you and your clothes appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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