Real stories · Pretty outside, teddy-bear inside

Florals on the outside, a teddy-soft lining on the inside — the jacket that finally made warm and pretty the same thing

A jacket that's genuinely warm AND genuinely pretty — I'd started to accept you had to choose. I'm 67, and my warm layers have always been practical to the point of apology: sensible colours, sensible shapes, nothing you'd call lovely. The pretty things, meanwhile, are for looking at through a window in November.

What I wanted was one jacket that did the frosty dog walk without me looking like I'd dressed for a hike.

Then I found the Melvaris from a British label called York Boutique — a floral jacket, and the secret is what's inside it.

Open it up and the entire lining, hood included, is thick teddy-soft fleece — the kind you can't stop touching. That's where the warmth comes from, and it's real warmth: frost-on-the-grass, scarf-optional warmth. But the outside is a soft cream covered in the loveliest botanical print, so from the other side of the street it reads as a pretty jacket, not a survival garment. Zip it to the chin, pull the hood up when the drizzle starts, and there are proper pockets for cold hands and dog treats.

Open it up and the whole inside is thick, soft teddy fleece — hood included — while the outside stays pretty florals. Warm enough for the frosty dog walk, lovely enough for coffee afterwards.

It has done every cold-morning walk with Winnie since it arrived, the frosty school run, and coffee with the girls straight afterwards without a change of outfit. Two women at the café asked about it in one week — both of them touched the lining and made the same involuntary 'ooh'.

It was £39.95 in the sale — I paused at nearly forty pounds until I realised it replaces both the warm-but-ugly jacket and the pretty-but-useless one. 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 three colourways and in sizes UK 8/10 all the way to 22/24.

If your wardrobe also splits into 'warm' and 'pretty' with nothing in between, do treat yourself to a look. The Melvaris is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 260 women, it's £39.95 in the sale instead of £80 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.