Real stories · Everyday dressing

The one easy dress I now reach for without thinking

I'm 67, and if I'm honest I'd got into a rut with clothes. Most mornings I reached for the same trousers and top because getting properly dressed felt like too much bother. I wanted to look like I'd tried — for a coffee with the girls, a potter round the shops, the odd family lunch — without spending an hour deciding. I have a little dog, Winnie, so whatever I wear has to cope with a walk as well.

Dresses were the thing I'd given up on. The smart ones felt fussy and needed ironing; the casual ones hung off me like a sack. And at my age I do like a sleeve — nothing dramatic, just something that covers the tops of the arms. Finding one dress that ticked all of that seemed impossible.

My neighbour, who always looks lovely and put-together, told me hers was the Ella from a British label called York Boutique. There was a summer sale on, so I ordered the brown spot to try.

It's become the dress I reach for without thinking. The fabric is light and breathable, so it's comfortable from breakfast to bedtime and doesn't crease if you so much as look at it. The shape is relaxed and falls to a flattering midi length, the round neck is neat, and those short sleeves are exactly right. I've worn it with sandals for the shops and with a cardigan and better shoes for lunch — same dress, completely different look.

One easy dress that works for the shops, for lunch, for everything — I didn't think that existed.

I'd expected to pay a fair bit — a decent day dress in town is sixty pounds these days. But York Boutique sells direct, with no shop in the middle taking a cut, so the Ella was £29.95 in the sale. I've since ordered the blue.

At my granddaughter's birthday, two of the other grandmas asked me where it was from before I'd even sat down. It comes in six colours — brown, red, yellow, green, blue and black — and in a proper spread of sizes, right up to a 20/22.

If you've fallen into the same old rut, this is the one I'd start with. The Ella is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 300 women, it's £29.95 in the sale instead of £60 — half price — and the popular sizes go first. I'd order sooner rather than later.