Real stories · Comfort that counts as dressed

Soft as my lounge set, dressed enough for the door — the top that does both

Soft as a lounge set, dressed as an outfit — that's what this top is. I'm 67, and my wardrobe has always kept two separate departments: the soft things I actually want to wear, which make me look like I've given up, and the presentable things, which feel like upholstery. The doorbell has caught me in the wrong department more times than I'd like to count.

What I wanted was one top that belonged to both departments at once.

Then I found the Averlyndra from a British label called York Boutique — a waffle-knit top in a patchwork of cream, soft stripes and sage green, with a little button placket at the neck.

The waffle knit is the trick. It feels exactly like the soft things — breathable, relaxed, nothing that grips — while the patchwork panels and buttons do the work an outfit normally requires, which is why the doorbell no longer sends me upstairs to change. With plain trousers it reads as 'put together'; it has even done a café without my feeling underdone.

Waffle-soft on the inside, deliberately dressed on the outside — which is why the doorbell holds no fear anymore.

At £34.95 — half the usual £70 — it cost less than the two separate tops it replaces, the soft one and the presentable one.

It has since done long reading afternoons, Pauline's unannounced visits, and tea in town with Sandra, who felt the sleeve and said 'that's not fair', which is the highest compliment she gives. I did check before ordering that I could send it back if it didn't suit — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free.

If your wardrobe also keeps comfort and presentable in separate departments, do have a look. The Averlyndra is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 300 women, it comes in one warm colourway, in UK sizes 8/10 all the way to 22/24 — and the middle sizes go first.