Real stories · One zip, no buttons

Cold mornings and stiff fingers made every button a battle — this jacket has one zip

One zip, no buttons, and warm hands in the pockets — I'm dressed for the cold before my fingers have noticed it. I'm 67, and my fingers have opinions in winter. First thing on a cold morning they're stiff and slow, and my good wool coat has five buttons that might as well be locked doors. I've stood in the hallway with the dog lead in my teeth, fiddling, while Winnie sighs at the door.

What I wanted was a jacket I could get into and do up without asking anything of my hands.

Then I found the Melvaris from a British label called York Boutique — a cream jacket covered in a pretty botanical print, with one long zip up the front, two deep pockets and a hood, and the whole inside soft and fleecy.

The zip is the whole point for me. One pull from hem to chin and I'm done — which is why my stiff fingers have stopped being the slowest part of leaving the house. Then they go straight into the deep front pockets and warm up while I walk. And the lining is the soft, warm sort you'd want next to you on a frosty morning anyway.

One zip from hem to chin, then hands straight into deep, soft pockets — which is why I'm out of the door before my fingers have had a chance to complain.

At £39.95 — half the usual £80 — it's the cheapest thing that has ever made my mornings easier.

It has since done the bins, the post, three dog walks a day and the corner shop in the dark, and my sister Joan — whose hands are worse than mine — watched me zip it one-handed at the gate and asked for the name before I'd reached the pavement. 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 fingers also slow you down on cold mornings, do have a look. The Melvaris is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 260 women, it comes in three colourways, in sizes UK 8/10 all the way to 22/24 — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.