What Do Dreams of Shopping for Clothes Mean?

After trudging around the shops in search of the perfect outfit for the big bash, you think you’ve finally found it. Asking the assistant if you can try it on, he nods and beckons you towards the changing room.

Once inside, you spend a couple of minutes battling to put it on, before giving up. Face it. It’s never going to fit you. So disappointing!

Attempting to try on another outfit that looks fantastic, you find it impossible to fit your hands into the sleeves. Very odd. You try on another top and again, it doesn’t quite fit.

Again and again, you try on various different outfits and each time, no matter what size it shows on the label, nothing seems to fit. How are you ever going to find an outfit?

Then you wake up. It was all just a dream. But what could it possibly mean?

When you dream about buying clothes for yourself, this could mean that you are experiencing an environmental change in your everyday life. As in your dream, you’re trying to change what you look like; therefore, the clothes represent your inner self. Maybe you have a new job or are moving house. The change can make you feel stressed and worried, no matter how big or small it is. And this is when you may have a dream about shopping for clothes.

The dream can also symbolise a change that you don’t yet know about, maybe a new friendship, a job, travel, or a romantic relationship. This means dreams about shopping for clothes are a positive sign and one that you should be excited about.

According to Labex Cortex, “This dream shows that you want to show your abilities boldly, you want to better package yourself, and show your best side. You believe that you have the ability to make achievements and want to be recognised by others.”

When you dream of clothes which don’t fit or aren’t your style, it can highlight you are trying to deceive others or present yourself in a false way. To dream of buying clothes without success indicates that you will be lucky in love, says Labex Cortex. “It is the period when people approach you with good intentions. If you try to create more opportunities, it is probable to develop into a love relationship.”

To be unable to find the correct store or the correct dress means changes are coming your way, according to Aunty Flo. “For the dress to be either too large or too small means someone does not fit into the life plan of the dreamer. For the dress to not be of good material or an inappropriate colour suggests possible doubts of your own capabilities.”

Dreaming of buying baby clothes can reveal you’re battling with past habits which are taking charge of your life. According to Aunty Flo, “you should not let them control you because if they do, things in your mind can cause harm.”

The fashion industry has been the subject of numerous films and television shows like the reality show Project Runway and the drama series Ugly Betty. Fashion brands are often featured in films as product placement opportunities, and also as bespoke items that have subsequently led to trends in fashion.

The French word ‘mode’, meaning “fashion”, dates back to 1482, while the English word for ‘something that’s in style’ dates only to the 16th century. In recent years, fashion blogging and YouTube videos are now the leading outlets for spreading trends and fashion tips, creating an online culture of sharing people’s individual styles on social media accounts like Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter.