Do clothes shrink a bit when stored in the cupboard for 6+ months?

[sonjadog]

I feel that the answer to this is probably, "No, you just need to eat less", but I am actually curious about this.

I have just got out my spring/summer clothes which have been stored away for over 6 months, and a lot of them, especially those in cotton, are just that little bit small for me. I have noticed this before with clothes I haven't worn for a long period of time. They stretch out to my size again after wearing for a while, but is it actually a thing that clothes could shrink a little/weave get tighter/something else when stored away for a long time?

Mine don't

wishful thinking I'm afraid

No.

I’ve never noticed that!

I would tend to say no. But, if it’s just the natural fibres, and they relax again after being worn, are you storing them somewhere very dry? And as they hang in your wardrobe they are absorbing more ambient humidity?
probably not scientific and a real reach, but I am trying for you Op!

😂😂😂 I wish!
I have never had any piece of cloth shrink on its own.

No, sadly I suspect that 6 months down the line you've put a bit of weight on rather than 'OMG my clothes have shrunk'.

Sadly, this is what I suspected. 😥

I appreciate it! I do actually store them somewhere very dry. I also wash them before putting them away, so there might be a little shrinkage from the washing machine before they get put away.

This is what I am telling myself. Nothing to do with all the crisps, oh no.

Yes! Mine have shrunk several sizes, but that's weirdly also coincided with me eating less healthily and sitting on the sofa more. It's a mystery, in my case at least.

I'm sorry, I don't know enough to say whether it's genuinely possible due the reasons you'd mentioned. The only way you'd know for sure would be to have the measurements of either yourself or the clothes from six months ago and compare against the measurements now. I guess if you don't but measured now, you could measure again in another six months?

I do find linen and some natural fibres shrink a little after washing, OP so you never know!

A New Age acquaintance once claimed that the reason her bras were getting tighter was because her heart chakra had expanded. I didn’t like to rain on her parade so just nodded and smiled sweetly.

Unlucky!

It's more likely that the clothes you wear daily have stretched.

When I've lost weight (in the past and now) even when my current clothes are too big, I often still can't drop a size, as a "new" 14 is smaller than what I've stretched... 😐

No.

You may have expanded whilst they were being stored though. 😂

I find jeans are always slightly tighter when they’ve been washed and ironed, and they relax out again after a couple of days of wear.

I saw a thread about it in 2023 or 2022!! I remember thinking “yesss! It happens to me”

😂

I have noticed this with freshly washed jeans but not with stored clothes.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/4643055-do-clothes-shrink-in-storage

look I found it! 2022!!

No 😂

No, jeans shrink after washing until they've been worn a few days. Not from being in the drawer.

Absolutely YES.

And my scales are broken too.
The numbers only ever go up and never down...
Can't think why 🤔

This is hilarious 😂

I like the way you think, OP!

DH reckons they do

Mine shrink whenever I eat too much crap. I wish I could blame the wardrobe though as it would be so much easier.

I KNEW IT WAS A THING!!

Not just all in my (optimistic) mind. Oh no, not at all....