Real stories · The jacket that makes jeans look deliberate

The blazer that upgraded everything I already own — one jacket over jeans, and suddenly I look like I've made an effort

One jacket that could make my ordinary clothes look intentional — that's what I'd been missing every single autumn. I'm 67, and my problem was never a lack of clothes. It's that everything I own is either comfortable-but-scruffy or smart-but-a-performance. The moment an invitation says 'just casual!', I stand at the wardrobe knowing full well that my casual reads as 'been gardening' while everyone else's casual somehow reads as 'effortless'.

What I wanted was the cheat: one layer I could throw over what I was already wearing that quietly did all the work.

Then I found the Serelinne from a British label called York Boutique — an elegant single-button blazer, and I chose the beige, which goes with practically everything I own.

The trick is that it's tailored where it counts and relaxed everywhere else. The cut is shaped through the shoulders and the lapel, so it reads as deliberate rather than borrowed, but it isn't stiff — I can drive in it, reach in it, and sit through a long lunch in it without feeling parcelled up. It's hip-length, which covers exactly what I want covered when I'm in jeans, and the single button means it looks right worn open or closed. Over a plain white top it makes jeans look like a decision; over a dress it turns 'nice' into 'smart'.

Thrown over a plain top and jeans, it does what a whole new outfit usually does. Tailored enough to look intentional, soft enough that I forget I've got it on, and the hip length covers exactly what I want covered.

It has quietly become the most-worn thing on my rail. Coffee with the girls, my granddaughter's school concert, a birthday dinner where I had no idea how dressed-up everyone would be — the blazer covered all three without me thinking about it once. My friend Barbara asked if I'd 'been shopping somewhere expensive', which from Barbara is practically a medal.

It was £34.95 in the sale, half the usual £70. 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 eight colours and in sizes UK 8/10 to 18/20.

If your wardrobe also splits into 'gardening' and 'a performance', do treat yourself to a look. The Serelinne is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 300 women, it's £34.95 in the sale instead of £70 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.