Clothes deteriorate in storage as well as in use, and the damage is often blamed on wear. The causes are separable, and each leaves evidence that identifies which one was responsible.
Hangers reshape shoulders permanently
A garment on a hanger carries its entire weight through the shoulder seams, and that load acts continuously for as long as it hangs.
A thin wire hanger concentrates that weight into two narrow points, which stretches the fabric and can produce the small peaks that never press out.
Knitwear is the most vulnerable because the structure is loops rather than a woven grid, so it elongates readily and does not recover. Folding is the appropriate storage for it.
Light fades fabric without anyone noticing
Dye molecules break down under ultraviolet and visible light, and the process is cumulative over months rather than sudden.
A wardrobe next to a window, or an open rail in a bright room, exposes whatever faces outward, which is why fading often appears on one shoulder or one sleeve.
Deep and saturated colours show it first because they have the most dye to lose, and the change is usually only visible when the garment is compared with an unexposed part of itself.
Moisture and still air favour mould
Natural fibres absorb moisture from the air, and in a humid, unventilated space that moisture supports mould growth on the fibre surface.
Sealed plastic containers make this worse rather than better, because they trap whatever humidity was present when they were closed.
Breathable cotton covers protect from dust while allowing air movement, which is why garment bags used by tailors are cloth rather than plastic.
Insects follow residue rather than fabric
Clothes moths and carpet beetles feed on protein fibres such as wool, silk and cashmere, and their larvae do the actual damage.
They are drawn strongly to fibres carrying body oils, food traces and perspiration, which is why unwashed items stored over a season are the ones that emerge with holes.
Cleaning before storage removes the attractant, and it matters considerably more than any repellent placed in the wardrobe afterwards.
Compression sets creases into the fibre
Fabric folded under weight for months forms creases where the fibres have relaxed into a bent position and reformed their internal bonds there.
Sharp folds can eventually break fibres along the line, particularly in silk and in aged cotton, producing a weakness that appears as a split.
Refolding along different lines occasionally, or rolling instead of folding, distributes the stress and prevents any single crease from becoming permanent.