Real stories · The jumper with a dressed-up secret

Every jumper I owned said 'staying in' — this half-zip is the first one that says 'making an effort' while feeling like a Sunday

A jumper that looks like an effort but feels like a Sunday — that's what my wardrobe was missing every single autumn. I'm 67, and jumpers are where my 'put-together' ambitions go to die: the soft ones bag and sag into 'staying in' by their third wash, and the smart ones itch, cling or need ironing, which for a jumper I consider a betrayal.

What I wanted was one jumper I could wear to coffee in town without changing, and still be comfortable in on the sofa that evening.

Then I found the Selvieraine from a British label called York Boutique — an elegant half-zip sweater, and I chose the pink, a soft dusty rose that flatters without shouting.

The trick is the collar. The little zip-up collar gives it a neckline — a reason to look finished — where an ordinary jumper just stops. Zipped up, it's neat and almost sporty-smart; half open over a white top, it's relaxed but still deliberate. The fit is what they call slim-relaxed, shaped enough to have a silhouette, roomy enough for a proper lunch, and the fabric is genuinely soft against the skin — no itch, no cling, no ironing board.

The little zip and collar do all the work: zipped up it's neat and polished, half open over a white top it's relaxed — and either way it feels like the soft Sunday jumper I didn't have to give up.

It has quietly taken over my week: coffee with the girls, the market on Saturday, dog-walking with Winnie when the morning turns cold. My friend Barbara asked if it was 'new and expensive'. It was neither by then, but I let her believe it.

It was £29.95 in the sale, half the usual £60. I'd checked before ordering that I could send it back if the fit was off — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free — so there was nothing lost by trying. It comes in six colours and in sizes UK 8/10 to 16/18.

If your jumpers also all say 'staying in', do treat yourself to a look. The Selvieraine is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 260 women, it's £29.95 in the sale instead of £60 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.