Real stories · Soft enough for the sofa, smart enough for the door

The doorbell used to send me running upstairs — this set ended that

Soft as my around-the-house clothes, smart enough to answer the door in — that's the whole miracle of this set. I'm 67, and for years my days had two wardrobes: the comfortable clothes nobody was allowed to see me in, and the presentable clothes I couldn't wait to take off. The doorbell going mid-afternoon was a small domestic emergency.

What I wanted was one outfit that could do the sofa AND the doorstep.

Then I found the Averielle from a British label called York Boutique — a two-piece set of a relaxed top and matching trousers with a soft, subtle sheen and an easy drawstring waist. Mine is the black; there's beige, white, grey, green, orange and blue as well.

The matching is the trick. Because the two pieces are cut from the same cloth with that gentle sheen, together they read as a deliberate outfit rather than 'comfies' — which is why the postman now gets a serene wave instead of a woman crouching behind the kitchen counter. And yet the waist is a soft drawstring, the top is loose where I want it, and the whole thing feels like it shouldn't be allowed out of the house. It is. It looks smart out of the house.

A matched top and trousers with a soft, subtle sheen — as comfortable as the clothes I hide in, but it reads as an outfit — which is why the doorbell has stopped being an emergency.

It was £34.95 — less than half the usual £80, which for two pieces that replace both my wardrobes struck me as suspiciously good sums. A fortnight to send it back and free delivery, so nothing to lose either way.

It has since done four full at-home days, two school pickups, one supermarket run and an unannounced visit from the vicar's wife — who was received at the door without a moment's panic — and my daughter, dropping the children off, asked if I was 'off somewhere nice'. I was not. I was extremely comfortable.

If your doorbell also triggers a wardrobe emergency, do have a look. The Averielle is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 250 women, it comes in seven colours, in UK sizes 8/10 to 22/24 — and at this price the black and the beige go first.