Dreaming of clothing
Ann Althouse has a post on dreaming about clothing. It got me thinking.
Many or even most of us have dreamed of the opposite – that is, of going out minus an important article of clothing and walking around embarrassingly naked. It’s almost as common a dream as the student anxiety dream.
But what of dreaming about clothing, the sort of thing described in the Althouse post? I’ve had dreams like that. One of the most vivid dreams I’ve ever had was of being in a large clothing store filled with clothes of the most beautiful, glowing, harmonious colors I’d ever seen. The design of the clothing was interesting, too, but it was the colors that were spectacular. In my dream, I spent a lot of time looking around and marveling at the wondrous colors, and I recall that when I woke up (and this dream was about 35 years ago) I was amazed that I had actually managed to visualize such beautiful things in a dream.
I’ve never had another dream like that. But I did have a series of other dreams about clothing. These all occurred in the months prior to my wedding, when I was in my mid-20s. They were anxiety dreams. I dreamed that it was my wedding day and I didn’t have a wedding dress. I tried to make do with different pieces of clothing but of course nothing was right; nothing was a wedding dress.
I probably had this dream at least five or six times, but it stopped when I actually bought a wedding dress – not in the dream, but in real life. My dress wasn’t a traditional wedding dress; it was an old-fashioned dress that very much resembled this one from the movie “Portrait of Jennie.”
While we’re at it, I’ll just mention that a quirk that I’ve had all my life is that I often remember the clothing people were wearing when certain things happened that seemed important to me at the time. And I remember much of my favorite clothing as a young child. There was a dress with strawberries on it that I wore when I was around three years old. I loved it very much, and when I was a year older and outgrew it, and my mother gave it away, I was very sad. I still remember that day.
Why? I don’t know; I’m not one of the world’s bigger fashionistas. But my memory tends to be very visual, like a snapshot or even a movie – where people were standing, what they were wearing, and whole dialogues that were emotionally important to me.
I’m sure that wedding dress was lovely! There’s no reason at all for women to look like they’re going to the prom, or worse, on their wedding days.
When I was an intern I was, as usual, tired all the time. I used to have dreams that I was so tired I climbed in bed with a patient and went to sleep. That was a recurrent dream at the time. No clothing dreams, though.
Mike K:
That’s pretty amusing.
Careful Mike, you may find yerself drummed out of the AMA for that…under the rubric of “wrongdream”.
(Though I suppose it could be used as an argument to lessen the sleepless load on medical interns…)
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Not sure if the following adds anything to the discussion…
“Seeing Through Clothes” by Anne Hollander
https://tinyurl.com/55dnpaut
“In this generously illustrated book, Anne Hollander examines the representation of the body and clothing in Western art, from Greek sculpture and vase painting through medieval and renaissance portraits, to contemporary films and fashion photography. First published ahead of its time, this book has become a classic.”
‘Portrait of Jennie’ is a haunting, beautifully made film. Thematically kindred, but even more memorable: Jack Finney’s crackerjack illustrated novel, ‘Time and Again’.
Add Daphne du Maurier’s ‘The House on the Strand’ to the (short) list of superbly realized time travel tales.
That must have been a beautiful dress, Neo! I, too, remember some of my childhood clothing quite vividly, especially a matching top and shorts that featured an abstract train across the hem, my favorite outfit at about age six or so.
I don’t think I have ever dreamt about clothing itself. Of course, I have had the apparently common dream of being naked in inappropriate places, but no dreams whose subject was clothing.
Unfortunately, I spent a dozen years performing at RenFest. I’ve had many clothing dreams.
Fortunately, not in the fashion sense except for one when I was fretting over working on a complicated silk costume.
I’ve never had clothing dreams, but I’ve been surprised, as a former jeans/t-shirts/a-few-button-downs kinda guy, how much I enjoy my Pendleton shirts and a Barbour canvas jacket.
Careful Mike, you may find yerself drummed out of the AMA for that…under the rubric of “wrongdream”.
I left the AMA many years ago. It was not long after my experience as a delegate to the convention,. They have/ or had two conventions. One is scientific and was at the time very interesting. The other convention was spent running for office in the AMA. That was quite elaborate and I learned why when I found out the salaries of the Board of Trustees.
I remember exactly what I was wearing when I met my husband to be. Famolare wedge sandals, Bongo jeans and a red spaghetti strap top. No idea what he was wearing except that it had to have been shorts from H. Miura Store and a tee!
My mother made my favorite childhood dress. Red pinwale corduroy in a dirndl style with black nordic pattern trim on the bodice and hem. My kindergarten or first grade school pic was in that dress so I have a visual reminder. Not that I need that. I wore that dress until I couldn’t squeeze into it any longer! I begged my mother to make me a copy but by then she was working and did not have time to sew clothes.
Does anyone sew their own clothes anymore?
My anxiety dreams were never of taking a test or speaking in public, but being in college and forgotten which room and building my classes were in, and which seat I usually took in the class.
1. Many wedding dresses still hark back to that Victorian-Edwardian vibe.
2. I remember being vocal when buying new clothes from a very early age. My mom usually went along with it – or wisely had me choose from her pre-selections.
I remember rust/fawn corduroy trousers and a white v-neck tennis sweater from grade school. I also remember refusing bell-bottoms, and begging my parents to splurge on Levi’s instead of Wrangler jeans – my first brand awareness.
In my college years I shopped the closeout basements and garment-district bunks of New York, where designer goods and seconds were sold with the label clipped out. I remember some nice oxford shirts and an Italian linen sweater. I also recall a genuine Fair Isle sweater I bought when visiting the UK.
None of that would fit my middle aged body…
Suits are kind of anonymous, but I remember a grey herringbone wool suit. My dad also got me into pinwale and pinfeather suits, and he still wears them now that we’ve all moved to Israel.
I got rid of a lot when we moved to Israel. The style is much more casual here. I brought some suits, a pair of saddle shoes, and a pair of wing tips but never wore them. I still have a box of my old silk neckties – too beautiful to discard.
I Remember It Well ? Maurice Chevalier & Hermione Gingold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQxM5rJ-uiY
HONOR:
We met at nine
GRANDMAMA:
We met at eight
HONOR:
I was on time
GRANDMAMA:
No, you were late
HONOR:
Ah yes, I remember it well
….
HONOR:
Ah yes, I remember it well
You wore a gown of gold
GRANDMAMA:
I was all in blue
HONOR:
Am I getting old?
GRANDMAMA:
Oh no, not you!
How strong you were
How young and gay
A prince of love
In every way
HONOR:
Ah yes, I remember it well
My wife can tell you what she was wearing at any significant event. Steel trap memory. She used to say, “A party for a woman is like a battlefield for a man.” I haven’t heard that much since she passed 70.
I’ve had the student anxiety dream, and the being embarrassingly naked dream. Also, since I was involved in theater in high school, I’ve had the opening night and I never learned my lines dream. All of these are pretty common I think.
One dream I used to have was a dream in which I could fly. A very pleasant dream, really. I’ve often wondered if anyone else ever has that dream.
I had the “can’t find the class room” and “not prepared for a test” dreams, but the strange recuring ones were about libraries. They were never libraries that seemed familiar and I was always looking for some book I knew to be there. I would find all kinds of interesting books but never the one I sought.
Chris B:
Dreaming that you can fly is a very common dream as well. I used to have that dream, bu in it I only flew a few feet off the ground.
Mike K:
Condolences on your loss.
FWIW, had a strange one—on two separate occasions when I was a kid.
I call it my “Wizard of Oz” dream.
I was with my family but for some reason they were in a car—my grandfather’s dull greenish 1940 Dodge or something like it, which my uncle used when a teenager in the mid-to-late 50s. (Even now I remember the dusty smell of the cushioned, carpeted but spare interior…)
Anyway, in the dream there was a tornado—they were in the car but I was outside the car, walking around I guess—and suddenly we were all swept up into the sky—they inside the car and me on my own, swirling around in the darkened sky—and as were swirling around up there someone (my mother? or maybe my grandmother, actually) opened one of the car doors and said “Get in”…which I, somewhat relieved, proceeded to do…and they shut the door, the car still swirling in the sky.
Had this same dream twice over several years.
I’ve never been in a tornado let alone seen one live.
Go figure…
(Don’t remember a thing about what anyone was wearing, though….)
Mike K.,
“A party for a woman is like a battlefield for a man.”
What a great line!
I’m watching the 1940 film of “Pride and Prejudice” based on the Jane Austen novel. I saw the Whit Stillman “Love and Friendship” also based on an Austen novel and I’ve had a similar response — I can’t tell the characters apart.
The men all look the same and the women all look the same.
I think it’s because the elaborate period costumes distract me. Then again, Austen seems to throw seven or eight major characters at you in the first ten minutes. At least that’s the way the films work.
There’s also the problem of cultural distance. Jane Austen’s world almost looks like science-fiction to me about an alien world with very different and elaborate cultural mores.
Anyway, it’s fun. I can now see Austen has a keen eye and the characters are often skewering each other in dialog — with the utmost refinement.
BTW, Uncle Aldous wrote the screenplay for the 1940 “Pride and Prejudice,” his only Hollywood credit as I recall. (That was partly why he left England for California.)
His P&P is more sprightly and amusing than I would have expected from his novels like “Point Counter Point” and “Eyeless in Gaza.”
https://stevekirsch.substack.com/p/vaers-myths-busted?utm_medium=email
Mike k.: “A party for a woman is like a battlefield for a man.”
Just so! It explains a lot about my wife. She has always been a careful dresser. Color coordinated, nice fit, well turned out. Even in her “old lady clothes” she just looks maahhvelllous. Would not think about going out if not properly dressed. She has a mental catalogue of all her outfits and whenever she is in a clothing store, she’s mentally testing everything she sees against what she owns and how they would fit together.
Me, I’m a schlub. Spent 38 years wearing uniforms to work. Now my uniform is khaki pants, and a polo shirt in summer or sweater in winter. Sandals in the summer, sneakers in the winter. I have five pair of khaki pants, ten polos, ten sweaters, one pair of sandals (well worn) and two pairs of sneakers. I own one dark suit and three dress shirts with five ties for dress up. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.
My only clothing dream has been the recurrent one about my old airline calling me to fly a trip. When I tell them I don’t have a uniform, the answer is always, “No problem. If anyone asks, tell them you’re an FAA pilot.” There are other versions of that dream – no license, my physical’s out of date, the airport is a five-hour drive, etc. No matter what I say, they need me desperately. 🙂 Out to pasture and feeling useless? Probably.
Mike K: “A party for a woman is like a battlefield for a man.”
Having gone to Catholic school where we had to wear a uniform I remember the day one of my classmates who was a transfer student from public school tell us that she like that we had to wear uniforms because wearing the “wrong” clothes in public school could be a “disaster” for girls.
I didn’t really understand at the time (I think she told us that in 5th grade); but, sort of got it when I went to public high school and hear girls trash talk each other over what they were wearing.