had vs have

[Azah]

Now she had a tank top on, blue jeans and sunglasses.

This sentence has been recited from Oxford Dictionary. Since, "now" indicates to the present time, why has "had" instead of "have" been used in the above sentence?

 

[emsr2d2]

We have to assume that the context shows that the entire (longer) piece is set in the past. The "now" being referred to was the present time at the time even though it's now in the past.

 

[bhaisahab]

Please post a link to the entry.

 

[MikeNewYork]

The sentence would be better if "on" came after "had".