Real stories · The wrap that stays where you put it

Every shawl I've owned slid off my shoulders all evening — this one has a knot that ends that

The wrap that stays where you put it — that's the entire reason this one has earned its place. I'm 67, and I've spent decades in restaurants and at do's quietly hitching a shawl back up my shoulders every four minutes, until it inevitably ends up on the back of the chair, and I end up cold.

What I wanted was that elegant draped layer — but one that behaves itself.

Then I found the Corviellea from a British label called York Boutique — a knitted wrap with a knot detail at the front, and I chose the soft pink, which is a kinder colour next to the face than I expected.

The knot is the whole trick. The fabric gathers through a knitted loop at the front, which is why the drape is anchored: it sits over the shoulders, falls into that lovely soft V, and simply stays — through a starter, a main and someone's long story about their cruise. The knit is soft and light, so it's the perfect weight for restaurants with enthusiastic air conditioning, and because it's one loose, flowing size, there's no squeezing and no sizing lottery: it drapes kindly over every figure, mine included.

The knot at the front is the whole trick: it anchors the drape so it stays put through a whole dinner — no clutching, no hitching it back up, no handing it to your husband by nine o'clock.

It has since done a birthday dinner, an evening do at the golf club and two ordinary afternoons over jeans, and not once did I hitch it up. At the dinner, my friend Sandra — who has watched me fight shawls for thirty years — asked to try it, did the knot, and went rather quiet. I've sent her the link. It may end up being her Christmas present.

It was £24.95 in the sale — the usual price is £60, so that's nearly 60% off — and I'd checked I could send it back if it slipped like all the others, which you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free. It comes in eleven colours, one easy size.

If you've also spent years hitching a shawl back up, do treat yourself to a look. The Corviellea is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 240 women, it's £24.95 in the sale instead of £60, and the soft pink seems to be everyone's favourite.