Real stories · The trousers that don't fight back

My waistband used to win every Sunday lunch — these trousers ended that

One waistband that has never once dug in — that's the entire review, and I'm aware of how modest it sounds until you're 67 and every pair of jeans you own has opinions. Mine made themselves known by mid-morning, filed formal complaints after lunch, and by the evening I was changing into 'the soft trousers' the way other people change into pyjamas.

What I wanted was one pair that could do the whole day without negotiation.

Then I found the Hester from a British label called York Boutique — a relaxed, straight-leg trouser with a soft tie waist that moves instead of gripping. Mine is the beige; there's blue, white, green and black as well.

The waist is the quiet genius. It's soft and gently tied rather than stiff and buttoned — which is why a long Sunday lunch passes without a single discreet adjustment — while the high rise and neat straight leg keep the whole thing looking intended, not surrendered. With a jumper and flats they do the shops; with the good cardigan they've done a birthday tea.

A soft tie waist that moves instead of gripping, on a neat high-rise straight leg — which is why Sunday lunch now ends without a single discreet adjustment.

They were £24.95, half the usual £50 — less than the jeans they've retired cost, and those spent half their life folded in protest. A fortnight to send them back and free delivery, checked once and forgotten.

They have since done three weeks of ordinary days — the shops, the library, one roast with all the trimmings at my daughter's — and it was Malcolm who delivered the verdict, watching me actually stay comfortable in an armchair afterwards: 'you've stopped fidgeting.' I have. There's nothing left to fidget about.

If your waistband also files complaints by lunchtime, do have a look. The Hester is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 300 women, it comes in five colours, in UK sizes 8 to 18 — and at half price the beige goes first.