Real stories · The coat that doesn't stop at my waist

Every jacket I own gives up at the waist — this one keeps going to mid-thigh

The coat that finally covers more than my waist — that's what this is. I'm 67, and here's the thing nobody says about jackets: they all resign at the waistband. Sit on a cold bench, bend over the market stall, catch one gust up the back — and there's your lower back, on its own, in November.

What I wanted was warmth that carried on past the point where every jacket gives up.

Then I found the Selviannea from a British label called York Boutique — a long quilted hooded coat in black, reaching to mid-thigh, with a soft cream teddy-style lining in the hood, a smooth zip and neat diamond quilting. I chose the black; there's brown, green and blue as well.

The length is the whole point. It carries the warmth down over the hips and seat to mid-thigh — which is why cold benches, bending and that gust up the back have all simply stopped being events — and yet it's surprisingly light: proper warmth without the duvet feeling, so it's easy to walk in and easy to drive in. The hood stands ready for wind and a light shower, and the zip means it's on in a second on the doorstep.

Warm past the waist, down over the hips to mid-thigh — benches, bending and gusts all covered — yet light enough that it never feels like wearing a duvet.

I'll be honest: £64.95 is the most I've spent in these sales, even at half the usual £130. Then I counted the months this coat will be on duty — October through March, every walk, every school pickup, every market morning — and the price divided itself into irrelevance. A fortnight to send it back and free delivery closed the case.

It has since done a week of school runs, two frosty benches outside the swimming lesson — sat on, warmly, in triumph — and one blustery walk along the river where the hood earned its keep. Sandra, inspecting the teddy lining, said it looked 'like an expensive hotel dressing gown in coat form'. She is not wrong.

If your lower back also spends winter unsupervised, do have a look. The Selviannea is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 200 women, it comes in black, brown, green and blue, in UK sizes 8/10 to 16/18 — and at half price the black goes first.