Real stories · Easy, comfy, and cool all day

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

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 soft fabric stays cool in the heat 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. 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.