Real stories · The blazer with cardigan arms

Blazers always felt like armour on me — this one has knitted sleeves, and everything changed

A blazer in front, a cardigan in the sleeves — that's the whole trick, and I can't believe nobody did it sooner. I'm 67, and my relationship with blazers has always been the same: they look exactly right and feel exactly wrong. Stiff across the shoulders, a tug every time you reach for something, and by mid-afternoon you're counting the minutes until you can take it off.

What I wanted was to look put-together and still be able to move like a person.

Then I found the Corvielleen from a British label called York Boutique — a double-breasted blazer with a tailored front, smart buttons and a proper lapel, where the sleeves are soft ribbed knit, like the arms of a favourite cardigan. I chose the soft camel; there are nine colours in all, from pink to black.

The split of labour is the clever bit. The structured front holds its shape, so from across a room it reads as a proper blazer — while the knitted sleeves stretch and give, which is why I can drive, reach a top shelf and hug a grandchild without that pull across the shoulders. It's soft against the arms, comfortable from morning to evening, and it goes over everything I own.

A tailored front that does the looking-smart, and soft ribbed knit sleeves that do the moving — driving, reaching, hugging grandchildren — without that pull across the shoulders.

It was £44.95 — half the usual £90 — and when I counted how often a camel blazer leaves the wardrobe — lunches, church, the theatre trip, every 'smart-ish' day in between — the sum collapsed entirely. A fortnight to send it back, free delivery.

It has since done a church coffee morning and a long lunch with my daughter, who hugged me hello, paused, and said 'this is SOFT — is it new?' — which from her is a full review. Worn all day both times; not once did I count the minutes.

If blazers feel like armour on you too, do have a look. The Corvielleen is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 190 women, it comes in nine colours, in UK sizes 8/10 to 22/24 — and at half price the neutrals go first.