Real stories · The high neck that doesn't throttle

I want a warm neck without being gently strangled all day — this one finally manages it

A warm neck without the throttling — that's what this top finally delivers. I'm 67, and my relationship with roll-necks has always been one day long: warm at nine, tugging at the neck by eleven, and by three I'm stretching the collar out with a finger like a woman being slowly arrested by her own jumper.

What I wanted was the warmth of a high neck without the grip of one.

Then I found the Liorisse from a British label called York Boutique — a smooth, lightweight top in warm chestnut brown with a clever slanted crossover neckline. I chose the brown; there's white, green, pink and black as well.

The neckline is the invention. Instead of a tube that rolls and grips, it folds over on the slant and simply sits there — high enough to keep the wind off and the warmth in, loose enough that it never once touches the throat — which is why, for the first time in years, a high neck has survived a whole day on me. It's light, it moves with you, and under a cardigan or coat it adds warmth without any bulk at all.

The neckline folds over on the slant and simply sits there — high enough to keep the warmth in, loose enough that it never once grips the throat.

It was £24.95 — half the usual £50, and honestly less than a round of coffees and cakes for the four of us. A fortnight to send it back and free delivery, not that it was ever going back.

It has since done a full week under cardigans and coats, one blustery churchyard tidy-up and a long lunch in a warm café — the true test, passed without a single tug. Sandra, a fellow roll-neck refusenik, tried the collar between finger and thumb and ordered the green before we'd paid.

If you also love a warm neck but not the arrest, do have a look. The Liorisse is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 240 women, it comes in five colours, in UK sizes 10/12 to 18/20 — and at half price the brown goes first.