Real stories · The everyday winter dress

On cold mornings I used to stand at the wardrobe for twenty minutes — now I reach for one dress

Long sleeves, tights and boots — dressed and warm in two minutes, every ordinary winter day. I'm 67, and winter mornings used to start with a standoff at the wardrobe: something warm enough for the walk to the shops, something decent enough for whoever I'd bump into, and nothing that did both. Twenty minutes later I'd be in yesterday's jumper and trousers, slightly cross.

What I wanted was one thing to put on that answered every question at once.

Then I found the Seraviellea from a British label called York Boutique — a long-sleeved midi dress in deep green with a soft tonal leaf print. There's burgundy, blue, black, purple and brown as well.

It works because it's one piece. The long sleeves and the midi length cover what a jumper and trousers would, so with thick tights and ankle boots underneath I'm warm from wrist to ankle — which is why getting dressed has gone from a negotiation to a single decision. It's comfortable for a whole day on my feet, and the print means it never looks like I've just thrown something on, even when I have.

One dress, long sleeves, tights and boots — warm from wrist to ankle, and the whole morning decision made in two minutes.

At £34.95 — half the usual £70 — it has done more work than anything else in my wardrobe this month.

It has done the shops, the library, coffee with Sandra and a dentist's appointment without a second thought, and Sandra asked whether I'd 'started making an effort'. I hadn't — that's rather the point. 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.

If your winter mornings also start with a standoff at the wardrobe, do have a look. The Seraviellea is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 230 women, it comes in six colours, in UK sizes 8 to 18 — and at half price the green and the burgundy go first.