Bún Bò Nam Bộ in Hà Nội, Việt Nam (New York Times photo).

Maiyet Denim Dress.

This dress seems perfect to me, fitted yet frayed. It reminds me of a jacket I had tailored while living in Việt Nam: a blue jean blazer that shed white strings every time I wore it. Ergo a personal pairing. If good fortune found me back on the streets of Hà Nội, I would wear this Maiyet dress to one of my favorite spots in the city: Bún Bò Nam Bộ, an unassuming street stall serving unimaginable bowls of beef vermicelli – seasoned grilled beef over cold rice noodles, topped with herbs, peanuts and fried shallots, all doused in sugared fish sauce and fresh lime juice. Forgive me a flashback: Within days of my arrival in Hà Nội, with only one dish on the menu, without saying a word (I had none), I sat down at one of the communal tables, and just as I realized I was the only foreigner in the jam-packed joint, a sublime bowl appeared, dissolving my self-consciousness. Mid-bite, a girl sitting beside me introduced herself and offered to teach me chopsticks 1.0 (a year later, I would be in her wedding). How I miss Việt Nam, its cacophony, its candor.  Unpacking memories as I imagine packing for a future trip.