Shopping, especially for clothes, can make you rack up a hefty bill quickly. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to shop on a budget and still find fashionable items that you love to wear. Whether it’s shopping for great sales or going thrift shopping, there are plenty of ways to save. Shannon Hiramoto is an avid thrift shopper, and for an amazing reason!
Not Just A Hobby
Thrift stores are great for so many reasons, but one of the best parts for the consumer is getting to spend tons of time sifting through the options of clothes on the racks. The greatest part about thrift shopping is that you get a ton of great clothes for a very small price, and you’re getting clothes that likely have a really awesome history. Shannon Hiramoto’s world was flipped upside down after she brought home an item from the thrift store.
Not Just A Hobby
Thrift Store Finds
Shannon Hiramoto, a Kuai local, loves going to thrift stores around town looking for the best vintage muumuus she can find. She finds these dresses to be both flattering to her body and comfortable to wear, so she buys what she can get her hands on! “So I’m always hunting for muumuu’s, that’s my hobby, vintage ones,” she stated.
Thrift Store Finds
An Unexpected Shopping Day
She once found a Salvation Army store in Lihue, Hawaii, and she couldn’t wait to get out of her car and run inside to see if anything interested her to buy. When she started to look through the racks of clothes, she had no idea she was going to be left speechless by one of the items.
An Unexpected Shopping Day
Somewhat Familiar
She found a dress from the rack that she thought she had seen before, but she could not figure out where or when she would have seen something of this kind. She held it up and stared at it for a minute, admiring the fact that it was a bit shorter than other muumuus she had seen before.
Somewhat Familiar
It Was Her Taste
She loved the pink fabric and the floral pattern that sat on top of it. It also had frills and a unique v-neck design, which she loved because it was not common to see either of these things on such a muumuu. She had no idea that this dress would later change her entire life.
It Was Her Taste
Not What It Seemed
“I saw this beautiful muumuu right here, and I’m like, ooh, a mini one, because you know it’s always fun finding a shorter one,” she said while she was being interviewed for a special by a local news channel. She had absolutely no idea, however, what was so unique about this dress until she looked much more closely.
Not What It Seemed
Something On The Tag
When Shannon looked at the tag on the dress, she saw that it came from Liberty House. She kept looking at the muumuu and then laid eyes on something above the tag, which looked as if it had been written with permanent marker many years ago.
Something On The Tag
She Had To Know More
After she saw that this dress had a mysterious permanent marker message on the back of it, she had a strong feeling inside that she needed to find out more about this dress. She kept it wrapped tightly in her arms to purchase it before anyone else could even look at it.
She Had To Know More
A Message For Her
She knew there was something about this dress that she needed to know more about, and she was determined to figure it out. Was this a sign from somewhere higher up? She felt like the message inside of this muumuu was written specifically for her to see, but how would that even be possible?
A Message For Her
What Could It Be?
Every time she looked at the tag on the dress to figure out what this writing meant, her heart kept skipping a beat and fluttering in her chest. She kept trying to focus all of her energy and thoughts on where she possibly could have seen this dress before, but she couldn’t place it. She had to solve this mystery somehow.
What Could It Be?
In Her Mind
She sat down and closed her eyes, determined to figure out where she had seen this dress before. Once she was able to focus, things started coming back to her. She pictured a lady wearing this dress, so full of life and laughter, smiling right at Shannon.
In Her Mind
A Time-Traveling Dress
This woman lived to be 108 years old, and now she had a strong message to share with Shannon, who was ready to listen. Little did Shannon know that her day at the thrift store would lead to her making a huge and important discovery about her life.
A Time-Traveling Dress
A Mystery To Solve
Shannon had a gut feeling that she knew what was going on here, and where she had seen this dress before. Nonetheless, she knew that she needed to search for photo evidence of what she was thinking before she embarrassed herself in front of her family. She didn’t want to be too confident in her answer before finding out for sure.
A Mystery To Solve
Family Secrets
There was a huge mystery lying in Shannon’s hands that she needed to solve before she told her family about it. She never imagined that looking at a tag of a dress that she found at a thrift store would make her get goosebumps all over her entire body.
Family Secrets
Her Suspicions
Shannon raced home from the store because her imagination and thoughts of what could come from this dress were racing through her head. Shannon’s mom was sitting at the kitchen table when Shannon ran through the front door, and at that moment, Shannon actually thought maybe telling her mom was a good thing; maybe she could help.
Her Suspicions
Nobody Could Believe It
Her mother nearly fainted after Shannon pulled the dress she just purchased out from her purse. She looked at Shannon in disbelief as she was trying to fight off the tears that started to fill up her eyes. What exactly was written on this muumuu, anyway?
Nobody Could Believe It
What It Said
Her mother’s face was showing every emotion it possibly could. Somehow, if this could even be possible, she seemed ecstatic yet devastated all at the same time. Shannon had no idea that her mother would react like this when she showed her the dress, but she understood at the same time.
What It Said
Who Is Kamei?
The tag had a name written on it in thick, black, permanent marker. The name written on the tag read as “Kamei”. Clearly, it was the name of the previous owner of the dress. Who was Kamei, though, and why did this dress mean so much to Shannon and her mom?
Who Is Kamei?
The Tag
When Shannon’s mother also recognized the dress and the name written on the tag, she knew that her suspicions were proven to be correct after all. Kamei was not a common name, and it certainly wasn’t a coincidence that someone named Kamei would find a muumuu like this so fashionable. In fact, they only knew one person on their small island who would fit this description.
The Tag
In Shock
She told her mom the story of how she found this dress in the first place and how she, too, felt this whirlwind of emotions, which ultimately is what led to her buying the dress. Her mother was able to confirm that when she saw this dress all of her suspicions were correct.
In Shock
Photo Albums
After Shannon and her mother made this incredible discovery, her mom raced over to the bookshelf and pulled out her collection of photo albums. They started searching page by page, photo by photo, to find the one that they were looking for. Shannon was trying to take deep breaths, but she was too excited to stay calm!
Photo Albums
Going Through Photos
For something like this, looking through photo albums before doing anything else may seem odd, but it was the best thing they could think of, and they were sure they’d find what they were looking for. Unfortunately, they finished looking through the albums without finding anything they were hoping for.
Going Through Photos
Couldn’t Figure It Out
Shannon thought this mystery would be one easily solved, but she quickly realized that was not the case here. She wasn’t sure she would be able to prove that her suspicions were correct, and she thought maybe they weren’t and that she should give up. Her mother, however, didn’t lose hope and kept looking for clues.
Couldn’t Figure It Out
About To Give Up
Shannon started to tell herself that her hunch was far-fetched and incorrect, and she thought maybe it was time to give up on looking for an answer. Even after spending an entire day going through photo albums and searching high and low for an answer, they didn’t find anything they were looking for.
About To Give Up
A Far-Fetched Idea
Even though she knew that the odds of her suspicions being correct were quite low and unlikely, she thought at first that she may still be correct. Shortly after her feelings of defeat, her mother gave her news that made her heart sink.
A Far-Fetched Idea
At Long Last
A few days after Shannon’s sense of defeat had overcome her and she stopped hoping to find information about the dress, she opened a text from her mom and gasped. “And it’s this, and it’s her. It’s a full-body shot and I was just so excited! My mom said it was the last photo in the last album she looked at.”
At Long Last
Unbelievable News
Shannon’s ideas had finally been confirmed, and she was right all along! When she saw the muumuu she thought that it had belonged to her great-grandmother, and her hunch was absolutely correct. She tried not to start crying tears of joy when she saw this photo. What were the odds of this?
Unbelievable News
Her Great Grandmother
“But it also had the handwritten word Kamei on it and it blew my mind because that’s my great-grandmother’s name. Her last name,” Shannon stated. Her great grandmother’s full name was Florence Shizuko Kamei.
Her Great Grandmother
Was It A Coincidence?
Her great-grandmother Florence was born in 1904 in Kekaha. How amazing is it that her dress ended up in the hands of her great-granddaughter? It certainly was a once in a lifetime coincidence, but maybe it wasn’t really a coincidence after all. Shannon believed in this stuff, and she thought maybe this was bound to happen.
Was It A Coincidence?
Advice To Live By
Shannon said about her great-grandmother, “One of her legacies is that when she passed she was the oldest person in Hawaii at age 108! When she died they announced it on the radio and news!” How amazing is this?
Advice To Live By
What’s The Secret?
Shannon remembers such fond memories of her great-grandmother and all of the stories she would tell throughout her life. She once told Shannon her secret to living such a happy and fulfilling life. As it turns out, her secret wasn’t such a big secret after all…
What’s The Secret?
Her Secret
Her great-grandmother told her that the secret to living such a long life was simple: “Green tea and hobbies.” Though Shannon remembers a lot about her great-grandmother, other family members remembered different things. One thing that everyone said about her was that she absolutely adored floral dresses, just like the one that Shannon found, and she constantly had a big smile on her face.
Her Secret
She Was Lovely
Shannon’s great-grandmother Florence was truly a happy and inspiring woman throughout her entire 108-year long life! Not only did she love her family, but she also found a home in the church; in fact, she was a member of the church choir and she played the ukulele in her spare time. She was a lover of delicious food, dancing, and experiencing the best life she could.
She Was Lovely
An Inspiration To Her
Shannon could not have felt any more inspired by her great-grandmother Kamei for all of the amazing things she did throughout her lifetime. As a matter of fact, she gave her daughter the middle name Kamei because of her great-grandmother. Is there a deeper meaning behind the name Kamei?
An Inspiration To Her
Quiet Child
Apparently, in Japanese Kamei really means “quiet child.” This is ironic, though, because neither her great-grandmother nor her young daughter had quiet personalities at all! Her great-grandmother was polite, lovely, and soft-spoken; everybody loved her for her genuine personality. Shannon’s daughter was a normal young child who loved to run around the house and spread her laughter everywhere she went.
Quiet Child
An Uncertain Memory
For many days before the mystery was solved, Shannon could not stop thinking about her memories of this dress. She knew that she thought she had seen Kamei wear this dress before, but she was also honest in saying, “It seemed familiar, but in this memory way.” Even after her idea was proven to be true, she wasn’t sure if she really had these memories or if she placed them in her head.
An Uncertain Memory
The Background In The Photo
“I just knew that she [her great-grand mother] always liked to wear muumuus that had pink or purple or red,” she remembered. Another amazing discovery was that she knew exactly where the photo was taken. Isn’t it so heartwarming to know that the location where this photo was taken would end up being the same place where the photo would stay forever?
The Background In The Photo
More Than Words
It sounded perfect that the photo was last in the album, and it was taken at the last place she would be. Shannon was having a difficult time expressing just what finding this dress meant to her; it was more important than she could even begin to explain. She couldn’t believe that something this amazing happened to someone like her.
More Than Words
In Hanapepe
Her great-grandmother Kamei smiled for the camera in the community of Hanapepe in Kuai, Hawaii. She posed in front of the United Church of Christ, which is the church she was a member at. “What’s really special about it is she’s there,” Shannon stated. “Her ashes, her remains are in the back of the church there, so it was like visiting her again.”
In Hanapepe
Her Church
Shannon wanted to honor her great-grandmother’s memory by going to visit the church that was so close to her heart. She loved the muumuu and she loved the church even more, so Shannon decided to go visit the church one day while wearing her great-grandmother’s beloved dress.
Her Church
Can’t Wrap Her Mind Around This
We think it’s absolutely incredible, and downright mindblowing, that the muumuu ended up in the hands of Kamei’s great-granddaughter, who loves muumuus just as much as she did. Shannon couldn’t believe that this happened, but she was so thankful for the fact that it did. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
Can’t Wrap Her Mind Around This
No Clue
When Shannon discovered the dress at the Salvation Army store, Kamei had already been gone for five years. “She passed five years ago, so, I have no idea where it had been between that point and now,” she stated. But how did Shannon explain the feeling of finding the dress in such an unlikely way? “It’s magic!” she exclaimed.
No Clue
A Message From Beyond
Shannon does not think it was simply a coincidence that she stumbled upon her great-grandmother Kamei’s dress at the thrift store that day. She is a huge believer in the fact that this was her great-grandmother’s way of sending her love to Shannon from wherever she was now. She said, “I think it’s just her way of telling me I’m on the right track.”
A Message From Beyond
Paying Homage To Her
“I’ve come full circle and feel like she is smiling down on me or at least giggling,” Shannon stated. She also made the bold and loving decision that she would save this muumuu for her daughter and for her daughter to then pass down to her children; it would become the new family heirloom to be cherished for generations to come.
Paying Homage To Her
Amazing Heirloom
Saving the muumuu as a family heirloom seemed like the best way to be certain that the memory of Kamei would stay in everyone’s hearts and minds, no matter how many generations have passed. Many people find some incredible treasures at thrift stores each day, but nothing can be compared to the family memory that Shannon found that day.
Amazing Heirloom