Real stories · Retiring the dressing gown

Comfortable at home always meant 'not fit for the door' — this long cardigan finally does both

One long cardigan, presentable enough for the door — that's what finally retired my dressing gown from daytime duty. I'm 67, and at home I had two modes: properly dressed and slightly chilly, or wrapped in the dressing gown and diving behind the kitchen door whenever the bell went. There was nothing in between.

What I wanted was the in-between: something as comfortable as the dressing gown that didn't look like one.

Then I found the Lunavelle from a British label called York Boutique — a long knitted cardigan, and I chose the warm camel, which looks expensive in a way I wasn't expecting.

The length is the whole trick. It falls well below the hips, so everything I want covered stays covered — over leggings, over jeans, over the outfit I've been in since breakfast — and the flowing cut skims rather than clings, which is why it reads as elegant instead of slouchy. The knit is a soft, breathable blend, so it's the light kind of warm you can wear all day without overheating. There's a hood for the school run when the drizzle starts, two proper patch pockets for tissues and keys, and a little secret my granddaughter found immediately: the words 'Simply Live' knitted down the back, which she has decided makes it 'actually cool'.

Long enough to cover everything I want covered, soft enough to live in, with a hood and proper pockets — comfortable as a dressing gown, and I can answer the door in it.

It has done every morning since it arrived, the postman, two school runs, and a coffee at the garden centre without being changed out of. It also survives the washing machine with its shape intact, which my previous long cardigan did not.

I'll be honest: at £59.95 I hesitated. Then I counted the days I'd actually wear it — which is every single one, from October to April — and it stopped feeling extravagant. It's half the usual £120, and I'd checked I could send it back if it disappointed — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free. It comes in six colours and in sizes UK 8/10 all the way to 18/20.

If your comfortable clothes also can't answer the door, do treat yourself to a look. The Lunavelle is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 190 women, it's £59.95 in the sale instead of £120 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.