Real stories · The dress with nothing to dig in

The maxi dress with no waistband, no zip and nothing to dig in — and it still looks like I dressed up

A summer dress with nothing that digs in — no waistband, no zip, no 'shapewear recommended' — that still reads as dressed up: that's the unicorn I'd stopped hunting for. I'm 67, and warm-weather clothes seem to come in two kinds. The elegant ones grip you somewhere by two o'clock. The comfortable ones are, let's be honest, glorified nighties.

What I wanted was one dress I could put on for a garden lunch and forget about entirely until bedtime.

Then I found the Corvalyn from a British label called York Boutique — an elegant v-neck maxi, and I chose the white, which is braver than I usually am and turned out to be exactly right.

The design does all the work without a single fastening. The v-neckline lengthens the neck and makes the whole thing read as deliberate rather than dressing-gown; the soft gathers just below the bodice give it shape while gliding straight past the parts of me that don't want attention; and the full-length skirt moves beautifully when you walk — there's something about a maxi that makes even the walk to the compost heap feel gracious. The fabric is light and breathable, so on the hottest day of the year I was the only one at the table not fanning myself with the menu.

The v-neck makes it elegant, the gathers below the bodice make it forgiving, and the full-length skirt moves beautifully — all with nothing that pinches, squeezes or needs unzipping after lunch.

It has already done a garden birthday lunch, a warm evening stroll along the front on our little seaside break, and one very hot Sunday of doing absolutely nothing in it. Twice now someone has asked if it was linen from 'one of those expensive coastal shops'. I just smiled.

It was £29.95 in the sale, half the usual £60. I'd checked before ordering that I could send it back if the fit was off — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free — so there was nothing lost by trying. It comes in white and black, in sizes UK 8/10 to 20/22.

If your summer wardrobe also splits into 'elegant but gripping' and 'comfortable nightie', do treat yourself to a look. The Corvalyn is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 280 women, it's £29.95 in the sale instead of £60 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.