Real stories · Dressed in one decision

Getting dressed used to take me twenty minutes and a necklace — now it takes one decision

One jumper, nothing to add, dressed by ten past eight — that's what this is. I'm 67, and most mornings my wardrobe and I used to hold a short negotiation: the warm jumper that needs 'something doing to it', the pretty blouse that needs a cardigan over it, the necklace that's always in the other drawer. Twenty minutes and three decisions later I'd leave the house feeling assembled rather than dressed.

What I wanted was one thing I could pull on that was simply finished.

Then I found the Ruvella from a British label called York Boutique — a cream jumper in a delicate openwork diamond knit with a scalloped neckline, finished at the hem with layers of soft chiffon ruffles and little crochet flowers.

The finishing is already sewn on. The ruffles and flowers do the job the necklace and the scarf used to do — which is why it reads as a complete outfit over plain trousers with nothing added at all. Pull it on and the decisions are over: warm enough for the day, pretty enough for company, and nothing to hunt for in the other drawer.

The 'something' is already sewn on — which is why getting dressed is now one decision instead of three.

At £39.95 — half the usual £80 — it costs less than the blouse-plus-necklace arrangement it quietly replaced.

Pauline asked at the coffee morning whether I'd 'made an effort'. I had not; I'd made a decision, singular. I'll admit 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 — which rather settled it for me.

If your mornings also start with a negotiation, do have a look. The Ruvella is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 180 women, it comes in cream, in UK sizes 8/10 to 18/20 — and the middle sizes are always the first to go.