Real stories · Easy, comfy, and cool all day

The dress I just pull on — no zips, nothing digging in, cool all day

One dress I could just pull on — cool, comfy, no fuss: that was all I was after, and I'd all but given up finding it. I'm 67, and getting dressed had turned into a daily battle. The smart things in my wardrobe are all fussy — zips that catch, waistbands that dig in by lunchtime, necklines that need just the right necklace. On a warm day it's worse: everything feels hot and tight, and I'd end up flustered, changing twice before I got out the door.

What I really wanted was one dress I could simply pull on and forget — soft, cool, nothing to fasten and nothing digging in — that still looked tidy for whatever the day held.

Then I found the Euphemia dress from a British label called York Boutique — an easy cowl-neck dress, and I chose the navy because it goes with everything.

It's the cleverest thing. There are no zips or buttons at all — you just slip it over your head — and nothing digs in, so it's every bit as comfy after lunch as before. The fabric is a soft, light jersey, which is why it stays cool and skims rather than clings, and the draped cowl neck falls into lovely folds. It's become the thing I reach for without thinking, day after day.

No zips, no digging-in waistband — over my head and done, and cool as anything in the heat.

A dress this easy to live in, I assumed, would be sixty pounds. But York Boutique sells direct, so it was £29.95 in the summer sale. I could have cried with relief.

I've worn it more days than not and had a compliment every time — and it's smart enough for a lunch out too. I'll admit I checked before ordering that I could send it back if it didn't suit — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free — which rather settled it for me. It comes in a whole rainbow of colours — eleven of them — and in sizes up to a 3XL.

If you're tired of fighting with zips and waistbands in the heat, do treat yourself to a look. The Euphemia is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 300 women, it's £29.95 in the summer sale instead of £60 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.