Dressing in other people’s clothes Dream Meanings

Clothes are the protective layer that keeps you warm, but they are also a way to express your personality or hide imperfections. In dreams, what you wear is often a symbol of your self-image or inner self, and if you dress in clothes that obviously belong to other people, this is a clear sign that you have problems accepting yourself as you truly are. It can, on the other hand, suggest admiration for the person whose clothes you are wearing.

For Jungians, wearing clothes of the opposite sex may signal the dreamer’s need to express the anima (female aspects of the male nature) or the animus (male aspects of the female nature). For Freudians, a child dressing up in adult clothes, particularly if the clothes are those of the opposite sex, may suggest childhood rivalry with one parent for the affections of the opposite sex parent.

If you are simply changing outfit in your dream, this may suggest altering your mode of behavior, role or mood.

If you astonish yourself by shopping for, buying and wearing unusual clothes in your dream that you would never normally wear in waking life, then your unconscious may have been suggesting that you have become too set in your ways and outlook, and that it is time to open your mind up to new opinions. Is it time for you to break out of your rut and for other people to sit up and notice you?

On the other hand if you dress casually in waking life and dream of wearing a business suit, your unconscious may be urging you to adopt a more business- like approach.

If you were surprised by the color of the clothes in your dream— either your own or those belonging to someone else—then see if that color has significance for you (see COLORS).

If you find yourself dressed in expensive designer clothes you couldn’t normally afford, this may also be simple wish- fulfillment, especially if you are fashion conscious.