Friday, September 11, 2009

Dream Interpretation: Dog in Traffic

THE DREAM
The other night I had a dream that I was standing on my street, when my dog got loose from her leash and ran out into the street. She proceeded to take a dump in the center of the busy Brooklyn street. Cars flew by, and were straddling her between their wheels (she's very small). I felt tremendous anxiety as this was happening.


This reminded me of a second dream I had a month or two ago. I was standing on a subway platform with my dog. I boarded a train, and as soon as the doors closed realized that she hadn't gotten on with me. I looked out the window of the subway car and saw her looking desperately back at me as it pulled away, shaking from fear.


 

THE INTERPRETATION
Who or what your dog represents is the key to understanding these dreams. If she is similar to you, perhaps in appearance or demeanor, she could represent you. My thought is that she is different from you, so she could represent something that you care about, or an aspect of yourself such as your feelings. I think that she actually represents both of these - the former in the first dream, and the latter in the second.

The first dream may mean that you were, or are thinking about leaving behind something that is important to you - this could be something "real" such as a job, or a relationship, or something more abstract like a state of mind. It could also mean that you are afraid of forgetting about or losing track of something that is important to you - such as a long-term goal or desire.

I think that in the second dream, the dog represents an aspect of yourself - your feelings. The soft, vulnerable, hidden, feminine aspect that men have within. If this is so, the dream may suggest a particular event (past, present, or future) or a fear or urge - you lose control of your feelings (your dog), and then say or do something wrong or inappropriate (er, take a dump). It seems that this happens during a turbulent circumstance (traffic). The whole experience leaves you shaken.

If the dream is of a past or present event, it may be a recap or remembrance of what happened. If it is of a  serves as a warning, with insight into the situation. Namely - be aware that an emotional or unreasonable outburst may cause trouble, so try to keep your feelings in check or find a safe outlet for them.

Thanks so much for sending this dream! Also, thank you to the lady of this dream, who wrote me such a touching reply to the interpretation! You are awesome!

Art: Pause by jkldesign Brown Line by ariyamastudio; Waiting for the Ferry by ds brennan; Even at the End of the Day by obsoleteworld

Friday, August 14, 2009

La Boheme Moderne

Just saw the sneak-preview photos of this shoot for Viva la Moda magazine:


The gray blouse in the top photo, and gray bloomers in the bottom photo are made by me for Dreams + Outfits - yea! The styling of the right-side outfit in the top photo seems so right that I can't imagine anything else for that blouse after seeing this.



The inspiration was sculptural, graphic, and modern. The execution seems sort of modern flapper-bohemian, what with the cream-colored hat and the piled-on necklaces, which I think are fantastic + inspiring. I also really like the idea of a long strand of pearls and a little bow necklace like the one in the photos.

There are more photos at paperflowergirl and Red Nails.

(And, more dream interpretations coming soon, soon, soon, as I recover from a sickness that knocked me out for the last week or so. Yes!)

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Fashion Inspiration: Au Revoir Simone

I love the little vintage frocks that Au Revior Simone, a trio from Brooklyn, wears in their videos. Light, airy, and a nice blend of lacey little-lady vintage and bohemian chic that's so perfect for the last days of summer. This is a still from their video Fallen Snow. Here are a few goodies from Etsy that they'd love:

from: santokivintage, DarkStar, DJVV, jessjamesjake


Vintage Ballerina esque Lace Mini Dress from santokivintageCream Victorian Vintage Mini Dress from DJVVFrida Kahlo MEXICAN LAYER CAKE Dress from DarkStarThe Ruched Dress in Peach from jessjamesjake

Also, thank you to the following blogs for featuring dreamsandoutfits: fazedgirl, The Scarlet Peacock, Object Lesson, Jen Ray, Fashion Me Fabulous

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Dream Interpretation: My kitchen is a Mother's Love, and through it is the Garden


THE DREAM

My mom died when I was young. My dad, my siblings and I moved in with my paternal grandparents. We lived in a very large two-story house and I had a very happy childhood considering the loss of my mom.

This dream began about a year after my mom passed away, so I was around 10. In my dream, I am in a very large house but it is nothing like the home where I grew up. The house in my dream is an L-shape and has a living room with a large window. I sit and look out this window and I can look into the kitchen. The kitchen is very long and at the end of it there is a greenhouse. There is no entrance to the kitchen through the house (yet it is attached) and the living room window doesn't open.

As I try to find an entrance to the kitchen, I open a door and it leads to another living room that is almost identical to the one I just left. Usually when I wake up, the last part of the dream I recall is sitting in the newly found living room. I have dreamed of this same house, to the exact detail, at least 100 times over the years. My mom didn't like to cook at all (so my dad said) nor did she care for gardening.

The other thing that remains consistent in this dream is that I am always alone in the house, there is never anyone in the kitchen, but the lights are always on. The outside of this house is never in my dreams, and I am very content, never frightened, but I do want to get to the kitchen. (I have no desire to cook or bake... trust me on that :)

Oh I didn't mean this to be so lengthy, but this dream is rather bizarre and because it is so reoccurring, I've always wondered the meaning. If I have other dreams, I don't remember them. I would be excited to hear your interpretation. Nothing would spook me or anything like that. I wonder too, do you have any thoughts why I never see the outside of this house?

THE INTERPRETATION

What a beautiful dream! This dream made me cry as I read...it states quite poetically some deep and simple emotional truths.

the key keeper by thelindentreeThe house represents you- your interior life of thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The living room, I think, is your present, emotional living state. You feel comfortable, and at ease here, which is good! Since this dream is about your interior life, the outside of the house may not be relevant.

The kitchen is where food is stored and prepared (you probably would have associated kitchens with cooking, even if Mom didn't do it much, or at all), and where family meals are eaten. Food and cooking here represent comfort, love, a sense of emotional safety and satiety. The kitchen is the source of this...and given that your mom had died recently, probably represents a mother's love. Your mother's love is of course, a real thing, but is also a shorthand phrase for the type of deep-rooted, unconditional, pure love that, while more rare, can exist with another person, or so they say, with the whole world, I hear, if you're a zen master.
Someday by yellena
Further- you can see into the kitchen, and want to get in, but can't. Therefore, you know that it's there, but feel you can't "get there" or experience it. Trying to get there through the door doesn't work. This is what made me cry when I read the dream...thinking about you as a little girl, wanting to be in this source of love and being unable to.

On the other side of the kitchen, there's a greenhouse. We can call this paradise, heaven, the Garden of Eden, the fundamental state of nature- they all mean the same thing. People instinctively feel a connection with nature, as it's been ingrained in us by millions of years of evolution (and can't be erased by hundreds of years of city-dwelling). This physical manifestation of nature, the greenhouse, is a symbol for our natural emotional state- a sense of oneness, belonging, peace. Alas! It can't be described, but can only be felt! This is our emotional home, where we belong.

The greenhouse is on the other side of the kitchen so in order to get to heaven, you will go through love. This is parallel to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, which is imagined as a pyramid- shaped diagram to explain that humans have certain needs, and that one can't "achieve" one without all the needs below it. This dream goes beyond Maslow and shows, in symbolic simplicity, that the previous need is a gateway to discovering the next.

My sense is that your interior state is well-adjusted, calm, and happy. This is how you feel in your living room, where you are now. Yet, like the archetype of the heroine or hero in a myth, you know there is more, and you want to seek. The start of a journey is knowing that there is a journey.

The dream indicates that you are trying to get to the kitchen, but keep finding yourself in essentially the same place (a bit changed, because all of life's experiences add more information to your psyche). Maybe you have been trying the same way of getting to the symbolic kitchen, but are finding that it leaves you in the same place as before? Ponder this, as the answer may not be apparent, and could be any number of things (ways of relating to others, to yourself, or with "things" in the environment like food, school, work, etc.).

So, how do you get into the kitchen, and then the greenhouse? This is rhetorical and is something for you (and all people) to discover. Maybe it's the meaning or purpose of life to figure this out, or at least a theme for your life, since this is The Dream, for you.

I predict great things by akihagoI see a parallel here between the physics of the dreamworld and the emotional interior world. What happens in both is determined by feelings, beliefs, knowledge, and assumptions. So, I can see three possible ways to get to the kitchen, implied by the dream:

1. The door: it seems that this hasn't lead to the kitchen. Maybe this door simply doesn't go to the kitchen. If there's a certain pattern in your life that seems like a search for the metaphorical kitchen, maybe that thing doesn't work, and it is time to find a new way. Or, perhaps this door could lead to the kitchen, but you believe it will not, and so find yourself in the living room again.

2. The window: There's a window that allows you to see the kitchen. In dreamland, it is possible to travel through windows, especially if you keep your attention focused on the destination (otherwise, you may get confused, and end up somewhere else). Similarly, perhaps you can go outside and go through into the kitchen through experiences outside of yourself - with another person or people, or the world. Just keep focused on that kitchen so you don't forget the goal and start wandering around outside!

3. Teleportation: In dreams, it is possible to move simply by being in the new location, knowing that you are there. Essentially, transcending the assumed reality. You can do this in dreams by learning how to dream lucidly - knowing that you are dreaming while you're asleep. This is freeing - since you realize it's a dream, you also realize that you can do whatever you want! One way to transcend in your interior space (thoughts, feelings, consciousness, etc.) is to learn how to meditate (become awake), and do it.

Pendant que la fenetre etait ouvertNow, you might say - okay, that's very interesting (ha, I hope!), but a ten-year-old child wouldn't know what Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is, or have some deep thoughts about the Garden of Eden or some-such. No, indeed! And that's why symbols are so powerful - they communicate instinctively-known truths that are beyond, and complicated by, words...

I hope this is helpful in your interpretation of the dream! As with any dream interpretation, I can just provide hints and clues...only you know what it really means!

Art: heart the hearth, by loveallaround, Jar of Golden Sprouts, by Golly Bard, The Key Keeper by thelindentree, Pyramid Houses by janicej, I predict great things by akihago, Pendant que la fenetre etait ouvert by irisschwarz

Friday, July 17, 2009

Fall Fashion: Carpetbags!

Who else is feeling me here? I want one, or several, carpetbags for fall, and have been working away on the patterns. I like them in southwestern (Native American, Mexican) and 80's vintage wallpaper-esque patterns. I love 'em as travel and weekend bags, handbags, and little clutches, too.

That outfit is from last year, but that southwest carpet bag is still radical and keepin' on - except for a strap crisis which saftey pins have sorta been able to handle.





I like these Etsy vintage carpet bags:













* and, thank you to Paper Cakes Finds and The Terrible Tews for featuring Dreams and Outfits on their blogs!
* also, I have a few dreams to get to...they are coming soon!


Vintage Bags from:
allencompanyinc, VonlenskaVintage, SkinnyandBernie

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Fashion Crystal Ball: Airbrushing

I really, really want an airbrushed bikini, 80's boardwalk vendor style, black and orange/yellow, with palm trees and a sunset.

A t-shirt dress like that would be cool, too.

I may have to ask airbrushbyjoni, the maker of this airbrushed t-shirt, if she can airbrush on a bikini. We shall see!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Dream Interpretation: Sex and Freshly Packed Snowballs


THE DREAM

I used to teach Tae Kwon Do. One of the moms (Hillary) was a bit unusual, as was her 4 year old daughter (Sierra). That's the back story, so the dream, which I had when I was about 13 or 14:

I walked into the office at the Tae Kwon Do school and Hillary was holding Sierra on her hip and wearing a sweater with the initials W.I. B. on it. I asked what it stood for and Sierra pointed to each letter in turn and announced what it stood for:

Wafering * Inhadescent * Bhobs

I looked quizzically at Hillary and she told me, with a look of embarrassed cockiness, "It means teenagers throwing freshly-packed snowballs".

THE INTERPRETATION

Snowballs Grow in Springtime by ShadedMemoriesThis dream deals with your feelings about girls at the time you had it (13 or 14 years old). At that age, it seems like you were attracted to girls, but found them intimidating! Here are the clues:

The mom is wearing a sweater that has letters that stand for "wafering inhadescent bhobs". These words sound a lot like, "wavering incandescent boobs", which is, I guess, a pretty decent way to describe teenage girls from a boy's point of view- changeable, thus, hard to figure out (wavering), glowing and lovely (incandescent), and sexy (er, boobs, all the more emphasized since it's written across her chest!). Since the little girl is the one to announce this, it may mean that this is the more innocent, or apparent, explanation.

Then, Hilary, the mom, explains a deeper, or hidden meaning, perhaps dealing with a more subconscious apprehension - "teenagers throwing freshly packed snowballs". This means that the newly sexy girls have a new (freshly packed) power - to be mean, or reject you (by throwing snowballs, which are cold, and which hurt - especially freshly packed ones).

I think that overall, this is a pretty good assessment of this dream...and I try to avoid over analyzing dreams, since some symbols may be unimportant or incidental. But, I usually can't help myself, so here goes:

You were at the Tae Kwon Do school. Since you were an instructor, this was a world in which you felt comfortable and in charge, perhaps representing the end of your elementary school, or childhood years. When you reach the age of 11 or 12, you're one of the big kids at school, and you may have felt good and comfortable about this. Then, high school or middle school and girls "enter" this world, and things change.

Why Hillary and Sierra? Other than what I said above about what the woman and girl could represent, I wonder, why them? If the mom was attractive, that could be a clear link. However, you mentioned that they were "unusual". Perhaps their strangeness represents the strangeness of teenage girls.

Great dream- I loved this one!

Art: Thorns by Elsita, Snowballs Grow in Springtime by ShadedMemories