Real stories · The dress for the invitations

Every December the invitations come — and every year I had nothing that felt like ME

One dress that does every December invitation — that's what I finally own, and I wish someone had handed it to me years ago. The party season is lovely in theory. In practice, my wardrobe offered two choices: the comfortable things that look like a Tuesday, or the 'occasion' things that itch, cling, dig in at the waist and leave my arms bare in a room I'd rather they weren't.

So every year, the same hour in front of the wardrobe, and the same sigh.

Then I found the Elarienne from a British label called York Boutique — a softly shimmering dress in a gentle silver-green, with an elegant off-the-shoulder neckline, sleeves to the elbow, and soft ruching gathered at the front.

The fabric is the quiet miracle. It's soft with an easy stretch, so it moves and breathes like my comfortable clothes — which is why I lasted a whole evening in it without once counting the minutes — while the all-over shimmer does the festive work a stiff dress usually charges you comfort for. And those sleeves: shoulders shown, arms covered. Whoever designed that understands women my age perfectly.

Soft, stretchy, shimmering — which is why the comfortable option and the glamorous option are finally the same dress.

I'll be honest: at £34.95 I paused. Then I counted the December diary — the club dinner, two birthdays, Christmas Eve drinks, New Year's — and divided. It's half the usual £70, and it does ALL of them. I did check I could send it back if it didn't suit — a fortnight, free delivery — which settled the wobble.

Its first outing was a retirement do. Sandra arrived, scanned me top to bottom the way only a best friend dares, and said: 'right, where's it from, and don't say you've had it years, I know your wardrobe.' Caught. I wrote the name on a napkin.

If your December diary is filling up faster than your wardrobe can answer, do have a look — before the party season properly starts. The Elarienne is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 220 women, comes in seven colours, in UK sizes 8/10 all the way to 22/24 — and at half price the middle sizes go first.