Real stories · Comfortable until the last song

Every party dress I owned had me counting the minutes until I could get home and change

A party dress I was still comfortable in at midnight — I honestly didn't know they made those. I'm 67, and every Christmas do used to follow the same script: I'd look nice for the first hour, and by nine o'clock something was pinching, squeezing or rubbing, and I'd spend the rest of the evening counting the minutes until I could get home and into my dressing gown.

What I wanted was a dress I could forget I was wearing — and still look like I'd made an effort.

Then I found the Fringella from a British label called York Boutique — a party dress covered in fine, shimmering fringe, with a V-neck. I chose the black; there's white, gold and pink too.

The difference is the fit. It's made for comfortable all-night wear and feels soft, smooth and gentle against the skin — which is why, for once, nothing was pinching by nine o'clock. I could sit through a long dinner, get up and dance, and sit down again without tugging at anything, while the fringe did all the glamour on its own.

A soft, smooth fit made for all-night wear — which is why I was still comfortable when they played the last song.

At £29.95 — half the usual £60 — it cost less than the taxi I used to order early to escape my own outfit.

It has done my niece's Christmas party, where I stayed until the end for the first time in years, and a long dinner with Malcolm's old work friends. Sandra, who always leaves early 'because of her shoes', asked what had come over me. I did check before ordering that I could send it back if it didn't suit — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free.

If party dresses have you counting the minutes too, do have a look before the Christmas dos. The Fringella is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 190 women, it comes in four colours, in UK sizes 8/10 to 22/24 — and the black goes first.