Real stories · The jacket that took the dread out of rain

Rain used to cancel my plans — this waterproof jacket quietly took the dread out of it

The jacket that took the dread out of rain — that's what this one has done. I'm 67, and I'm slightly ashamed of how often the forecast used to run my diary: the coast walk postponed, the garden left half-done, Winnie looking betrayed at the door. My old rain jacket kept the rain out and the sweat in, which is its own kind of wet.

What I wanted was something genuinely waterproof that didn't feel like wearing a plastic bag.

Then I found the Maribels from a British label called York Boutique — a waterproof wind jacket, and I chose the white with its soft grey leaf print, which is a great deal prettier than anything usually allowed to call itself 'outdoor wear'.

It gets the practical bits right. The fabric is waterproof and windproof but breathable, which is why you stay dry on the inside as well as the outside — no more arriving clammy. The hood adjusts with little toggles and actually stays put in wind, instead of blowing back at the first gust like every other hood I've owned. The cuffs adjust too, so nothing drips up your sleeves, the zipped pockets keep keys and phone dry, and the whole thing is so light it folds into the shopping basket or the car door pocket — which means it's always there, which means it gets used.

Properly waterproof but breathable with it, a hood that adjusts and actually stays put in wind, and light enough to fold into the shopping basket — rain has been demoted from 'plans cancelled' to 'jacket on'.

It has since done a properly wet week: the coast path with Winnie, deadheading the roses in the drizzle because I was fed up of waiting, and the school run in a downpour when my daughter's car wouldn't start. I was dry every single time, and the leaf print got compliments in the playground — from the young mums, no less.

It was £39.95 in the sale — the usual price is £90, so that's more than half off — and I'd checked I could send it back if it rustled or clung, which you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free. It comes in seven colours and in sizes UK 10/12 all the way to 20/22.

If the forecast has been running your diary too, do treat yourself to a look. The Maribels is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 260 women, it's £39.95 in the sale instead of £90 — a 56% saving — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.