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?

I find my clothes shrink in direct proportion to the amount of crisps I’ve eaten.

OP I had this thought ...

They must do!

Because my mother, 85 and shrinking fast, is having trouble with the buttons on a cotton/poly top. I dug out her summer clothes yesterday. She was worryingly thin last summer ....and is now frighteningly thin.

She will no longer tell us her weight and tried to refuse being weighed at the doctor but sent me out of the room to do it on the last visit.

I was looking at it and wondering how the hell it happened. It remains to be seen if it's happened with anything else. All her clothes go in the same temp, there's no way we would have accidentally put it in a hot wash.

It wasn't part of what she took to the care home (respite) because I was very aware of clothes issues there and she didn't take any favourites.

So...clothes must shrink in storage?! Her house veers from draughty and damp to boiling when she puts the heating on.

I have just been around the park with the dog in the dungarees that brought on this thread, and I can report to all you naysayers that the dungarees are much more normal size now (maybe a little tight over the stomach, but not unacceptably). So I reckon there is something to my theory. Or at least that these particular dungarees (100% cotton) were washed and shrunk a little in the wash before being put away.

It's a thing!!! I've lost 1.5st since Xmas and tried on a dress and some shorts in case I needed to buy new as we're going away.... All tight 🫣