Real stories · Just enough leopard

I thought leopard print was behind me — this jumper keeps it exactly where it flatters

A little leopard, just across the shoulders and nowhere else — that turned out to be exactly the right amount. I'm 67, and somewhere along the way I filed leopard print under 'not any more', along with high heels and staying up for the election results. Head-to-toe print at my age feels like a costume. But a wardrobe with no print at all starts to feel like a waiting room, and mine was well on its way.

What I wanted was a dose of print small enough to get past my own judgement.

Then I found the Feylianne from a British label called York Boutique — a soft knitted jumper in calm bands of cream and grey, with the leopard print knitted across the shoulders and upper chest only, and a classic round neck.

The placement is the whole trick. The print sits up at the yoke, near the face, where it does what a good scarf or necklace does — lifts everything — while the calm bands below keep the rest quiet, which is why it reads as chic rather than loud. And it's a proper soft, relaxed knit underneath the cleverness: warm, easy, nothing that grips.

The leopard sits only at the shoulders, where a scarf would — which is why it lifts the face instead of shouting across the room.

At £34.95 — half the usual £70 — it cost less than the scarf-and-necklace arrangements it quietly replaced.

It has since done the café twice, one birthday lunch, and a coffee with Sandra who looked at me over her cup and said 'well, look at you' — which from Sandra is practically a standing ovation. I did check before ordering that I could send it back if the print was too much in person — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free.

If you've also filed leopard under 'not any more', do have a look. The Feylianne is rated 4.5 out of 5 by more than 290 women, it comes in grey or pink, in UK sizes 8/10 all the way to 18/20 — and the grey goes first.