Real stories · Feeling put-together

The set that made me feel elegant and comfortable at the same time

I'm 67, and there's a particular feeling I'd almost forgotten — walking into a room feeling properly put-together, without having spent the afternoon fussing over it. Somewhere in my sixties I'd started reaching for 'comfortable' and quietly accepting that it meant 'a bit frumpy'. I have a little dog, Winnie, and most days that was fine — but for a dinner out or seeing family, I wanted to feel like myself again.

The trouble is that the elegant things are never comfortable, and the comfortable things never look elegant. Waistbands that dig in, fabrics that crease the moment you sit down, matching sets that seem designed for women half my age. I'd more or less decided that 'effortless' wasn't for me any more.

It was my daughter who spotted it — the Ophélie set from a British label called York Boutique, in the summer sale. A soft top and matching trousers you can wear together or apart. I chose the beige, half expecting to be disappointed.

I wasn't. The fabric is a soft blend that drapes beautifully and feels gentle against the skin — no scratchy seams, no digging waistband, just an easy drawstring. The top has a simple crew neck and a relaxed shape that skims, and the trousers move with you. I put the two together and honestly felt a foot taller. And I've since worn the top on its own with jeans, which feels like getting two outfits for the price of one.

Comfortable and elegant, at the same time. I'd stopped believing those two words belonged together.

Two nicely-made pieces, I assumed, would be the best part of a hundred pounds. But York Boutique sells direct — no shop taking its cut — so the whole set was £44.95 in the sale, down from ninety. For a top and trousers together, I could hardly believe it.

At a friend's ruby wedding lunch, three women asked me about it before the starters arrived, and one wrote the name on her napkin. It comes in seven colours — I'm tempted by the green next — and in sizes right up to a 22/24, which matters when so many 'sets' stop far too small.

If you've been choosing comfort and quietly missing feeling elegant, do treat yourself to a look. The Ophélie is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 300 women, it's £44.95 in the summer sale instead of £90 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first. I'd not leave it.