Real stories · The layer that finishes every outfit

Jeans and a white top used to be 'just popping out' — with this checked jacket over them it's suddenly an outfit

One layer that turns 'just popping out' into 'an outfit' — that's the gap this jacket filled. I'm 67, and my daily uniform is jeans and a plain top, which is comfortable and, on its own, announces absolutely nothing except that I own jeans and a plain top. Every attempt at a finishing layer was either a stiff blazer that felt like work or a cardigan that felt like staying in.

What I wanted was the layer in between: structured enough to look decided, easy enough to throw on without thinking.

Then I found the Mariviennee from a British label called York Boutique — a longline checked jacket, and the check turned out to be the whole point.

Because the pattern is doing the work, the rest of the outfit doesn't have to: over jeans and a white top it reads as put-together without a single accessory. The cut is longer than a blazer, so it covers what I want covered when I'm in jeans, and the relaxed fit means it goes over a jumper in October just as happily as over a t-shirt now. There are proper side pockets — keys, phone, dog treats — and simple buttons for when the wind picks up. It's the definition of throw-on-and-go.

The check does the accessorising, the longer cut covers what I want covered, and the relaxed fit goes over anything — jeans and a plain top walk out of the door looking decided.

It has become the thing I grab without deciding: the school run, coffee in town, the farm shop on Saturday. My daughter now calls jeans-top-jacket my 'signature look', which is generous for something that takes eleven seconds to assemble.

It was £39.95 in the sale — I paused at nearly forty pounds until I counted how many mornings a week it leaves the hook, which is most of them. Half the usual £80, and I'd checked I could send it back if the fit was off — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free. It comes in sizes UK 8/10 all the way to 22/24.

If your daily uniform also needs eleven seconds and one good layer, do treat yourself to a look. The Mariviennee is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 190 women, it's £39.95 in the sale instead of £80 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.