Real stories · The dress that doesn't touch you

On warm days everything clings somewhere — this is the dress that simply doesn't touch you

A dress that doesn't touch you — on a warm day, that turns out to be the entire secret. I'm 67, and warm-weather clothes have always found somewhere to cling: the waist, the back, the tops of the arms. By mid-afternoon I'd be quietly rearranging myself like a deckchair.

What I wanted was something I could pull on in one movement that left me alone all day.

Then I found the Sarvelle from a British label called York Boutique — a short-sleeve kaftan dress, and I chose the soft khaki green, which looks far more deliberate than its comfort suggests.

The shape is the whole idea. It's cut as a loose cocoon that stands gently away from the body, which is why the air moves and nothing sticks — it skims everything and touches almost nothing. The fabric is a light, breathable blend, the little cap sleeves cover exactly the stretch of upper arm most of us prefer covered, and the length lands respectably at the knee-to-midi mark. One movement over the head, and you're dressed — no zips, no buttons, no decisions.

The cocoon shape stands away from you so the air can move, the light fabric breathes, and the little cap sleeves cover exactly the bit of arm most of us prefer covered — warm-day dressing in one movement.

It has done the entire warm spell: the garden, the market with a basket, a pub lunch by the river where everyone else was glowing gently and I wasn't. My daughter called it 'very gallery owner', which I've decided is a compliment. It also came off the washing line ready to wear, no iron involved.

It was £34.95 in the sale, half the usual £70. I'd checked before ordering that I could send it back if it hung like a sack — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free — and it emphatically does not hang like a sack. It comes in four colours and in sizes UK 6/8 all the way to 18/20.

If your warm-day clothes also need constant rearranging, do treat yourself to a look. The Sarvelle is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 240 women, it's £34.95 in the sale instead of £70 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.