My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich

Sixty-six year old Emilia Brown knows that she will never be like the grand dame of Ashville,  R.I., Mrs. Groton.  When Mrs. Groton dies, Emilia is first to sign up to help catalog items for the estate sale.  When she comes across a simple, elegant, "little black dress", she becomes obsessed with the idea of owning one just like it - just one beautiful dress in her plain, ordinary, cotton dress life.  Not everyone thinks of Mrs. Brown as ordinary.  She has always been the neighbor and friend Alice could count on.  She was just the sense of comfort famous model Florida James needed when she took a break to study at the local college.  Even Rachel Ames, Mrs. Groton's personal assistant knows there is something special about her.  Mrs. Brown heads to NYC after saving the money for the dress but things do not go as planned.  This is a sweet, old-fashioned story with characters you wished lived next door.