WOMAN BUYS VINTAGE MUUMUU FROM A THRIFT SHOP AND ENDS UP UNCOVERING ITS DECADES OLD HISTORY

 

Thrift shops aren’t just a great place that contain antique pieces but also a medium to contribute to churches and needy people. Generally found in every part of the world, it always has the potential to surprise people of what they might discover. A lot of people visit the thrift shops in the hope that they would end up with something incredible. Shannon Hiramoto was one of the thrift shoppers who loved to collect muumuus, a traditional Hawaiian dress without having a clue that one day her hobby would amaze and inspire her to do something extraordinary and enormous.

Sunday Mornings

Shannon had already winded up all the household chores in the morning and got ready to go to the thrift shop in the vicinity. It was her weekly routine that she had been doing for years and never missed a chance to find something antique in the thrift shops. Her visits had become so frequent that most of the shop owners have got acquainted with her and helped her in her quest.

Routine

Since her childhood, she had been interested in antiques of all kinds and when she grew up her interest drifted towards antiques in fashion. So, later when she started her own clothing line in Hawaii called machinemachine, she still couldn’t get enough of the old dresses and be always on a quest to find the oldest of all the dresses to make a new one out of it especially Muumuus.

Eternal Love

Shannon’s love for muumuus was quite known to everyone who was close to her and her customers were always in awe of her collection. Her collection would be inspired by the antiques she would collect from the thrift shops and people would go gaga over them. She would often recall how she got into the business and people would give their ears to her and enjoy listening to her experience.

Muumuus

Muumuus is basically a loose, bright colored dress worn in Hawaii by women. It is one of the traditional outfits that are still worn by the woman in the present time too. The Hawaiian women have a typical liking for the dress because of its loose structure. With the passage of time, the design of muumuus may have changed but the love remained the same. And Shannon was already making it a trend in the city using the vintage dresses from the thrift shops.

Sewing In Blood

She was just 14, when her grandmother Mildred Hiramoto and great grandmother, taught her how to sew. Her first ever project was a pair of shorts using her vintage polyester fabric which she had stashed years back. Then she made a car seat cover for her ’69 VW Squareback’ after which she had never turned back and was in love with sewing.

Inauguration Of The Company

While growing up she was clear in her head what she had to, so in 2007 she opened a company called machinemachine and materialized her dream into reality. But unfortunately, her great grandmother who was her inspiration passed away in 2011. After her demise, it was the company that helped her remain close to her spirit.

Busy Lane

After so many years she knew where she had to look out for the inspiration for her next work, there were several shops on the road and were crammed with people as expected on a Sunday morning. She greeted a couple of her customers while she walked down a busy lane and they asked about her business and life. Their excitement was clearly visible when she informed them that they would soon be able to see the new collection in the studio.

The Thrift Shop

She entered the thrift shop and started to rummage through the racks to find something for her new collection. The shopkeeper too accompanied her in her hunt. It had been years and she had become his regular customer. Moreover, he was a fan of her work and praised her for her unique work and creativity and often said she had an eye for antiques.

Search Begins

Soon she started searching for muumuus and picked up a couple of them with some intricate designs on it. The shopkeeper would often joke that if her pockets would allow she would buy the whole thrift shop at one go and she would laugh her heart out with him. On the other days, she wouldn’t take much time to buy but today it seemed to her it would take her infinite amount of time. Would she be able to get what she desires?

Found The One?

While she was searching through the stack she stumbled upon a beautiful muumuu which had a vibrant color combination of pink and purple and the design looked quite old. The moment she set her eyes on the piece of cloth she knew would buy it no matter the price. There was something so magnetic about this particular muumuu that she felt an instant connection to the same.

Taking It Home

She spared no moment to rush to the counter to buy it. While she was returning, she tried to examine the pink-purple color muumuu carefully as she thought she had seen this before but couldn’t remember where. When she reached home she told her husband about the same and he brushed off saying that muumuus are quite common and so is the color,she might have seen someone wearing it before they sold it off to the thrift shop.

Apprehensions

She knew her husband was right but she had bought numerous muumuus and never felt that before and but today she was feeling a connection with it. Though the thrift shop kept a lot of old stuff, this seemed to be older than she could estimate. The design present on the muumuu was not so common at that time. Would she be able to find out the truth?

New Collection

As the season approached she got engrossed in making her new collection keeping that particular muumuu aside. She worked day and night to accomplish her task and to prepare for the new season’s collection. Though she was passionate about her job, she always felt like she was appearing for her mid-term exam and was nervous.

Sold-Off

Her creation was always adored and bought lavishly, but this time it had crossed the record of previous sales and her profit was enormous. When she saw that she jumped with joy and rejoiced her victory with her family. She invited her mother for the celebration at dinner that night and thought of showing her the same muumuu.

The Dinner

So everyone gathered at her place at the destined time to celebrate her triumph. All raised the toast and congratulated her on her victory. The night went well with everyone rejoicing the pudding at the end. When she finished her daily chores she remembered about the muumuu that she had forgotten in the hustle-bustle.

Closet

She rushed to her closet and picked out the muumuu which got buried under her clothes. She gradually started to examine by turning the cloth up and down. While she was doing so she stumbled upon the tag that was attached to the cloth. The tag was of Liberty House but then she saw something written on the tag that blew her mind. What was so surprising?

Scribbled Name

Along with the tag of Liberty house, there was a name scribbled on it. She tried to read it but it was hard for her to make out the name in the first place. It had faded with the passage of time still she tried her level best at it. She started to read the name word by word and tried to make sense in her head.

Surprised

As she read the whole word aloud she was surprised to find that the name scribbled on it was ‘Kamei’ , which was the last name of her great-grandmother. Her mind started to wonder in all possible directions to get an answer to the questions that were coming into her head. Did she buy her great-grandmother’s muumuu?

Searching For Answers

She vaguely remembered her great-grandmother wearing the same combination but she was not sure if the muumuu was the same as her great grandmother had worn. The name written on the muumuu was not so common last name, but what was her great-grand mother’s dress doing in a thrift shop. Or was it just in her head?

Searching The Truth

The following day, she thought of seeking out for help and so without wasting any time she called her mother and explained her the situation. Her mother was also surprised by the revelation and asked her to send the photo so that with its reference she could search for the truth. Would they be able to find out?

Album

On seeing the photograph, she too confirmed her daughter that she had seen her wearing the same pattern of dress but there was no proof to confirm the theory. So she started to look into the old albums to find some clue. Her mother was disappointed when she couldn’t trace a single photo of her beloved grandmother and called her daughter to tell her the same.

Disappointment

Shannon got back at work thinking the incident to be just a mere coincidence but her mind was unable to accept that. A few days later, when she was engrossed in her work her mother called out of the blue. She frowned at her phone because she never used to get her mother’s call at working hours. What was so urgent that she was calling her at that time?

Clues

She was nervous at first while picking up her phone and hoped everything was fine. As she picked it up, she was surprised to hear her mother’s exuberant voice as if she had found some long lost treasure. Shannon calmed her down and asked her what happened. She said last night she was looking for some old papers and stumbled upon another family album. Was there any clue in it that made her so happy?

The Photo

She said as she wasn’t able to find the old papers so she started to flip the album while she was thinking about the same. It was when she suddenly saw the exact design in the photo that her daughter had recently sent. It was the last photo of her and thereafter she had no other photos clicked.

Evidence

“My mom said it was the last photo in the last album she looked at,” Shannon later said in an interview. And to her surprise, it was the same dress with pink and purple florals, a ruffled collar, and a short length, she had just bought from the thrift shop. She felt as if fate had given her a chance to meet her again.

Treasure

For the mother-daughter it seemed as if they had found some treasure, their happiness was beyond explanation. Her great grandmother’s name was  Florence Shizuko Kamei, she was born in Kekaha, Hawaii in 1904. “One of her legacies is that when she passed, she was the oldest person in Hawaii at age 108!” Shannon said it in an interview. “When she died, they announced it on the radio and news!”

Florence Shizuko Kamei

She was the most adored person anybody could meet. She was always cheerful and tried to keep everyone happy around her. Her love for clothes was infinite, especially the muumuus. She had a variety of them and was in a habit to collect different designs of it. She was very fashionable and would often make the younger generation envy her collection and choices. But after she died nobody knew what happened to her wardrobe.

Inspiration

Shannon and Kamei shared a very close bond when she was alive.  When Shannon was a kid she used to visit her frequently and she would tell her stories of her childhood and folklores and taught her how to sew. It was she, who inspired Shannon to start a business as a seamstress and later she became famous and was known for her muumuus across the area.

High-Spirited Lady

Shannon would often ask her how she managed to age so fine as most of the other people her age were always suffering from several problems. And there she was enjoying her life at the fullest dancing and singing when others would find it difficult to even stand up from their beds. She would often laugh at her question and one day told her the secret to her healthy life.

Secret To Long Life

When Kamai was alive she once told Shannon the secret of her healthy life she said: “Green tea and hobbies.” Shannon remembered her great grandmother and described her on Instagram and wrote: “She loved her church choir, playing ukulele, Japanese dancing, joking around, and eating,”. There were some people in her followers who remembered her that she was always laughing, smiling, and enjoying her time with friends and family.

Kamei

When Shannon was born her mother, Hiramoto gave her the middle name Kamei in the honor of her great grandmother,it was in Japenese which meant a “quiet child.”It was quite ironic that neither of them had quiet personalities. Later when Shannon’s daughter was born, she too gave her the same middle name as her great-grandmother, Shizuko.

Overwhelmed

With the discovery of the precious dress, she was overwhelmed and but something in the photo caught her eye. As she carefully examined the background, it looked familiar to her but she couldn’t remember at the moment where was the building and why did the building look so familiar to her?

Background

She saw the background with concentration and tried to remember where she had seen it. Suddenly it clicked in her mind that the place she had been photographed was the same place where her ashes were buried. It was the wall of the famous United Church of Christ which was located in a historic country called Hanapepe.

The Ashes

Shannon was unable to control her tears as she later recalled in an interview: “What’s really special about it is she’s there,” she explained. “Her ashes. Her remains are in the back of the church there, so it was like visiting her again.” The mere coincidence brought back the happy moments she had shared with her. But was it just a mere coincidence or there was some message too?

Recreating The Legacy

Whenever Shannon thought about the incident she always thought it to be more than an accidental discovery. There were thousands of other dresses but out of all, she discovered her great grandmother’s dress. So she thought of recreating the photo the next time she visited the church again. It would feel like coming close to her again.

Visiting The Church

The following weekend she visited the church in Hanapepe again, wearing the same dress and clicked the photo at the exact spot as her great grandmother had clicked hers. It was a soothing experience for her as she was really close to Florence. She even shared the photograph with her followers on social media and the response was quite inevitably positive.

Miracle

Finding the lost muumuu was not less than a miracle for the family, it was just like regaining the long lost heritage. Shannon said, “She [Florence Kamei] passed five years ago, so I have no idea where [the muumuu] had been between that point and now.” And luckily no one bought it before her.“It’s magic,” Shannon laughed. “I think it’s just her way of telling me I’m on the right track.” To her, the dress illustrates that her great-grandmother is guiding her life.

Sharing The News

When she came back home she thought she must share this story with her followers as many of them knew her great grandmother. She excitedly posted her photo wearing the muumuu and described her visit to the church. The response that she got was insane and enormous. People who knew Kamei were overwhelmed by the discovery.

Live On T.V

After she put the news on her social media channels, she received a lot of invitations for the interviews. Everyone wanted to know about her experience. She also went live on many news channels reiterating her experience to the rest of the world too. It was evident that she was not the only one who believed that her great grandmother had found a way to reach out to her after her death.

The Heritage

Being a  believer in recycling the clothes she wanted to pass the dress to her 3-year-old daughter. She had a firm belief that whatever happens, happens for good. And she considered the muumuu as a positive sign that Florence was watching her from heaven and showering her blessing upon the family and her business as well.

Blessing From Heaven

“I’ve come full circle,” Shannon said, “and feel like [Kamei] is smiling down on me…or at least giggling.” She felt a new zeal at work and the inspiration is very well reflected in her recent works. She had also put the photo in her office which continuously reminded her of the happy times she had spent with her.

Limelight

Shannon’s shop had come in the limelight since the news and praises had started to pour in, but she had never let the praise got heavy on her head. She was working day and night making her great-grandmother’s legacy to reach out to millions. Sometimes she took her daughter to the shop too, in the hope that one day she would develop the same enthusiasm as her mother.

Mission

Before this incident, Shannon considered visiting the thrift shop as her hobby and would do it whenever she was free on weekends. But now she regularly visited the thrift shop with a motive to buy something authentic and renew it according to the new fashion while preserving its authenticity. Her vision had attracted many more helping hands in her mission.

Going Places

She did not just limit her talent to the city’s thrift shop only but she likes to travel in search of new designs and inspiration. She also bought the old and vintage dress especially her favorite muumuu and wherever she went she encountered questions regarding her future plans for the business she had been thinking to expand from some time.

The First Shop

In 2012, she had opened her first Studio/Storefront and named it as Workshop. It was located in Old Hanapepe town, this was where her dream started to become reality and she had been doing whatever she had been taught so far by her mother and their mothers. This studio had been special since her starting days which reminded her of the learning she had received from every member of her family.

Expanding The Business

In 2016, she had relocated to Warehouse 3540 in Lawai keeping the same name as a way of preserving the heritage that was connected with the previous storehouse. She had also collaborated and welcomed her father, Charlie into the new venture. Just like Kamei, her father was an inspiration to her, so she started this new venture with a motive to bring freshness to the authentic clothing.

Trend And Vintage Mix

Her father had not only helped her stabilize her business but also made it more trendy too. Where he tried to mix and match the trend with the vintage collection. In the new space, he had built a sweet printmaking studio home to two letterpresses and one etching press, on which he printed cards and pullovers and tees.

Immortal

One of her desires was that her pieces should not get wasted because they had become old and worn out or had gone out of fashion. She wanted her clothes to be worn by every generation regardless of the season. She had also made a scheme where if a customer got bored they could bring back the piece to her shop and can get it changed with a new one with a certain discount.

Beyond Continents

Her vision was not just confined to Lawai but it had crossed all the borders. They now ship internationally too along with the domestic orders. Her Instagram is always flooded with new designs and collections. There are more than 5000 people connected to her on Instagram who not only appreciate her work but also eagerly wait for her new collections.

Happily Ever After

She is on a continuous voyage of creating new trends using the vintage one along with her loving father. This business had not just brought glory to her family’s name but had helped her family to grow beyond the borders of the country. She loves to hear the comments and suggestions that come in her way. In one of the interviews, she recalled the most used comment: “I live in this dress!” .Craftsmanship has held great importance in her life and in the world of fast flimsy fashion she has been happily providing the customers with another option.