FASHION BRANDS TO KNOW: IN YOUR DREAMS
IN YOUR DREAMS
I sat down with Lena, the creatress behind bamboo loungewear brand In Your Dreams. Here’s our juicy conversation on personal growth, leaning into the discomfort of creative evolution, and talking to the Moon.
BY: SHEL MORING
It’s true that the last 3 years blur together in the collective unconscious, though I’d say the beginning of quarantine has a distinct imprint that can’t be overlooked. I remember exactly what I was doing when COVID first hit us hard in the States, requiring us to stay indoors and take up new means of creativity. And I especially remember when my searches for affordable, sustainably-made loungewear yielded the website for a Long Beach brand called In Your Dreams, a brand I would come to love and even commission custom underwear for... more on that later.
When you first take in the creations that Lena — founder, seamstress, designer of IYD — shares to her Instagram in often grainy, minimalist photographs, you’ll notice the attention to detail in each of her designs. A rounded cut-out above the chest, a delicate criss-cross pattern to elevate a sleeveless top. Bamboo fabric hugging hips and accentuating natural curves. Her pieces evoke a sense of 90s nostalgia when the LBD still reigned supreme and femininity expressed itself in dark, sensual hues. Given that one of Lena’s style icons is Penélope Cruz, it’s not hard to see how her love of simplicity and femme forms translates into her designs.
“I’m designing a collection of where I am and this era of my new life. At the beginning of In Your Dreams, around 2018, it had very wholesome vibes. It was cute, I liked all the things I made. But it’s definitely different from where I’m at now,” Lena shares with me over our Monday morning call. Both of us will be 26 this year and have experienced the aftermath of ending a long-term romantic partnership, inviting us to reflect on what we want the rest of our late 20s to look like. I watch Lena’s face light up as she gushes about her recent creative breakthroughs.
“After my break-up is when I started using [making clothes] more as an art form for myself,” she continues. “I went through so much after it and I experienced life. It’s funny to see how everything [I made] was wholesome back then and now that I’ve lived a little bit, actually in the world by myself, In Your Dreams is evolving into something sensual.”
It’s true that the pieces have evolved. When In Your Dreams started gaining traction in the early stages of the pandemic, Lena focused mostly on colorful bikinis and underwear. Loungewear sets came next, usually consisting of bandeau tops and matching high-rise, flare pants. Anyone looking to transform into their own version of a Sueños Girl didn’t have to look much further than In Your Dreams. Today, Lena’s shop is still stocked with matching sets but has placed more emphasis on the classic, everyday look with a sexy spin.
I’m marveling at Lena’s workspace as we continue to chat over the phone. There’s soft, natural light spilling into the den attached to her parents’ home where she works, creates and sleeps. A huge Monstera with tons of fenestration is perched happily atop a cabinet, slightly drooping down over a clothes rack with yet-to-be assembled fabrics. Her workspace certainly emulates a cozy, small-business vibe compared to the industrial warehouses we associate with fast fashion companies.
After a brief period of commuting between Long Beach and Mexicali, where her family helped run production for IYD, Lena found herself feeling disconnected from her creations. At a couple different points in our conversation, Lena shares with me that she never wanted IYD to be like the big brands she would see on Instagram. “[When we did production in Mexicali] I was trying to rush the process,” she notes. “That was kind of eye-opening now, I should’ve just slowed down because I didn’t have to do that. Now I really want to take my time and enjoy the process of doing everything myself, being one with the product.”
“After my break-up is when I started using [making clothes] more as an art form for myself,’ she continues. ‘I went through so much after it and I experienced life. It’s funny to see how everything [I made] was wholesome back then and now that I’ve lived a little bit, actually in the world by myself, In Your Dreams is evolving into something sensual.”
There is a sense of slowness, intentionality and ritual in Lena’s process. If you visit her Instagram or TikTok, you’ll see behind-the-scenes glimpses into how the pieces are made. Lena takes custom orders on occasion, and always tailors the clothes according to her customer’s measurements, making each piece special to the future Dream Girl who’s to receive it. It’s refreshing to watch an item of clothing transform from yards of bamboo fabric into something soft, feminine and completely unique, all at the hands of Lena herself.
“I like to set the vibe. I light an incense, put on a playlist on my huge boombox and start blasting my music. I’ll start by cutting the pieces I need from fabric and that can take up to 2 hours. Eventually I’ll go to the sewing machine and start putting everything together. I try to make it a sacred process. I put a lot of intention into when I create, everything is about energy, so I hope that people can feel it,” Lena tells me.
“I like to set the vibe. I light an incense, put on a playlist on my huge boombox and start blasting my music. I’ll start by cutting the pieces I need from fabric and that can take up to 2 hours. Eventually I’ll go to the sewing machine and start putting everything together. I try to make it a sacred process. I put a lot of intention into when I create, everything is about energy, so I hope that people can feel it.”
I find myself getting whisked away by Lena’s words. The dreaminess embedded in her pieces certainly radiates —from the satisfying black and white labels that read “In Your Dreams, hand cut + sewn in Long Beach and Mexicali,” to her Instagram full of equally dreamy customers donning their matching sets. Even I can attest to Lena’s infusion of magic into her pieces. Last year in 2022, I approached Lena with a large custom order request. It was to her delight that she designed a 10-pack of undies for me; classic black on the outside and lined in lavender as an ode to Yin & Yang dynamism. This small detail alone transforms an everyday undergarment into a reminder of mysticism that is always around us. The brand itself showcases magic, and it’s simply an extension of Lena’s relationship to the Divine.
“There’s a lot of goals that I have for myself this year, so I don’t know what’s going to happen... but I kind of do. I’m trying to work hard to manifest those things. I feel like since my break-up, my spiritual side has gotten so much stronger.” We take a moment to relish in that shared feeling, of endings being the catalyst for greatness. How many of us have had our worlds turned upside down, only to find that there are seeds of potential around every corner? How often do we embrace change — as painful and difficult as it can be — as the necessary force to shake us from creative or spiritual slumber?
She continues, “I like to go on walks at night by the beach with my dog. And I talk to the ocean, to the Moon, to the trees. I just tell them what’s going on, all the goals and dreams that I have. I feel like ever since doing that, I feel heard. Once you let everything out, the Divine will help you in some mystical way. Everything starts making sense. Slowly.”
“We take a moment to relish in that shared feeling, of endings being the catalyst for greatness. How many of us have had our worlds turned upside down, only to find that there are seeds of potential around every corner? How often do we embrace change — as painful and difficult as it can be — as the necessary force to shake us from creative or spiritual slumber?”
We chat more about being in our bodies, about knowing when it’s time to say yes (like asking for the things that we want and meeting the Universe halfway) and when it’s time to say no (like stopping yourself before you commit to a creative project that doesn’t feel aligned). When I ask Lena how she would describe the work she’s doing with IYD — that is bringing new levels of accessibility and playfulness to the world of slow, independent fashion — as if to someone experiencing self-doubt, she is quiet for a moment.
It’s the question I was anticipating asking her the most. So many of us can see ourselves as that person, completely in awe of another creator doing their own thing and flourishing, but struggling to source our self-confidence for our own projects. We know that creativity comes in waves and that productivity is often defined by capitalist expectations that don’t account for rest. What do we do when our dreams feel too big?
Lena’s response is thoughtful and tugs at my heartstrings, even as I transcribe our conversation and relive the moment for a second time. “It’s hard to do things for yourself sometimes. Even if people are telling you you’re talented, it doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it and you’re not seeing that for yourself. I am that little girl that wanted to be a fashion designer, who really wanted this,” she says. “I have to take care of myself in that way, because if I don’t, life is monotonous. It’s not fun if you’re not chasing something. It’s about quitting the self-sabotaging and looking at yourself like that little child who has dreams. Don’t give up on them. You’re the only one who can make those things happen.”
So this must be why In Your Dreams has the ability to resonate with us beyond our love for the pieces themselves. We can don ourselves in soft bamboo fabrics and enjoy the way they hug our bodies in the right, affirming places. And we can certainly tap into the pleasure of being a Dream Girl, loving what we see in the mirror after longingly gazing at the pieces on a screen before they arrive at our homes.
But what In Your Dreams truly speaks to is the miracle that unfolds when we surrender to that unseen, universal force. The one that leaves us buzzing in our bodies, marveling at the aliveness we feel because we chose to follow our Heart’s desires. Lena is crafting a portal into a world where we choose softness, slowness and savoring the process. And you are absolutely invited.
“It’s hard to do things for yourself sometimes. Even if people are telling you you’re talented, it doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it and you’re not seeing that for yourself. I am that little girl that wanted to be a fashion designer, who really wanted this,’ she says. ‘I have to take care of myself in that way, because if I don’t, life is monotonous. It’s not fun if you’re not chasing something. It’s about quitting the self-sabotaging and looking at yourself like that little child who has dreams. Don’t give up on them. You’re the only one who can make those things happen.”
“We have the power in our own hands to really change our lives, and it’s just a matter of leaving our comfort zones. I could’ve easily stayed in my relationship and I know I would’ve stayed the same. All this happened for a reason, because I chose another path,” Lena tells me, and her Aquarius placements are showing. “I am more proud of what I’m making now than a year ago, which is really nice. For a while I didn’t know why I was making them, but now I feel really connected to the pieces I’m making. I feel like we do have the power to change the direction of our lives. You have to ask yourself if you’re willing to accept the change and go through whatever life throws at you.”
FOLLOW & SUPPORT IN YOUR DREAMS BELOW
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FOLLOW & SUPPORT IN YOUR DREAMS BELOW 〰️
By Tiara Starks
Zhané Aliya is a content creator based in the Nashville bringing her own flair to the fashion, lifestyle, and DIY beauty content niches while speaking in-depth about her experiences as a Black creator navigating the platform’s ever-changing algorithm.