Kimono

Something old (my mom's kimono), something new (a sash and a ribbon), something borrowed (the belt obi borrowed from a relative), and something blue (the sash).  My attire for a friend of mine's wedding (not mine).

I met an old lady in front of a second-hand kimono shop in the neighborhood.  The shop owner stepped out and there was a plate hanging on the door saying: "please call me at this number if you need anything urgently"  The lady said that the owner was supposed to be back 10 minutes earlier.  She looked very much like my great aunt who passed away last year.  It made me want to cry.
We were not particularly close, the aunt and me.  She was occasionally mean to my mom, but I liked her in an inescapable relatives way.
She didn't have any child of her own, so she treated us like her grandchildren in her sunny days.  She was thin and energetic and pretty loud, always made me feel ashamed at fancy restaurants.
Once I peeked her big closet.  She had lots of bags and shoes in matching colors, unlike myself.  I always buy brown leather bags although most of my shoes are black.  And I always regret it later.
Kimono shop was the kind of place you could bump into her.  She used to always dress up nicely.