Real stories · Never too hot, never too cold

Hot in every shop, cold the minute I step outside — this is the one jumper that copes with both

Never too hot in the shop, never too cold at the bus stop — the one jumper I don't keep taking off. I'm 67, and winter has become a series of temperature ambushes. Outside it's three degrees; inside the supermarket it's a tropical greenhouse; the doctor's waiting room is somewhere in between. In a thick jumper I'm red-faced by the second aisle, and in a thin one I'm frozen at the car.

What I wanted was one jumper that didn't need managing.

Then I found the Melarien from a British label called York Boutique — a soft, relaxed jumper with long sleeves and a row of little buttons at the neck. I chose the navy; there's sky blue, wine red, army green, brown and black too.

It's lightweight and breathable, so it doesn't trap the heat when I walk into somewhere warm — which is why I no longer go pink in the cheese aisle. But it's still a proper long-sleeved layer, cosy enough for the chilly walk back with a coat over the top, and the relaxed cut lets the air move instead of clinging.

Light and breathable enough not to trap the heat indoors, a proper long-sleeved layer under a coat outside — which is why it's the one jumper I never take off.

At £29.95 — half the usual £60 — it costs less than the two jumpers I used to keep swapping between.

It has done the supermarket, the surgery waiting room and a very overheated garden centre café, and Sandra, who was fanning herself with a menu, asked how I looked so cool. I did check before ordering that I could send it back if it didn't suit — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free.

If your winter is also one long round of layers on, layers off, do have a look. The Melarien is rated 4.5 out of 5 by more than 350 women, it comes in six colours, in sizes UK 8/10 up to UK 18/20 — and the middle sizes go first.