Real stories · The polo neck that doesn't itch

I gave up polo necks years ago — the itching, not the look — and this one brought me back

A polo neck that doesn't itch — I'd honestly stopped believing in those. I'm 67, and I gave up polo necks years ago the way you give up certain foods: not because I stopped loving the look, but because by eleven o'clock every single one had me discreetly clawing at my own neck like a woman with a secret.

What I wanted was the warm, put-together look of a polo neck without the hour-by-hour argument.

Then I found the Marviennee from a British label called York Boutique — a chunky woven polo neck in soft cream with a big relaxed funnel collar and a cheerful orange stripe down each sleeve. I chose the cream-and-orange; there's a green version as well.

The neck is the difference. It's a wide, soft funnel that sits gently around the throat instead of gripping it, and the blend is soft and breathable with no prickle in it at all — which is why, at the eleven o'clock test, there was nothing to report. Just warmth. It's warm without being heavy, the semi-relaxed cut is flattering without clinging, and the weave with that orange stripe looks far more expensive than it has any right to.

A big soft funnel neck that sits gently instead of scratching, warmth without the weight, and that cheerful orange stripe down the sleeve — by 11am I'd forgotten I was wearing it, which is the whole point.

It was £34.95, half the usual £70, and with a fortnight to send it back and free delivery there was no reason not to settle a ten-year question. So I did.

It has since done a coffee morning, a windy walk along the river with Winnie and one long lunch, all itch-free, and at the lunch my daughter said the orange stripe was 'very now' — which I gather is a compliment. Sandra simply asked if it came in her size. It does.

If you also filed polo necks under 'lovely but unbearable', do have a look. The Marviennee is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 250 women, it comes in cream-with-orange and green, in UK sizes 8 to 16 — and at half price the cream goes first.