Real stories · The dress that solved every invitation

The pink maxi that flatters without a single squeeze — the shape is in the cut, not in anything that pinches

A dress for the invitations — the summer wedding, the garden party, the big birthday — that didn't require shapewear underneath or a cardigan on top: that's the dress I'd been failing to find for years. I'm 67, and occasion dresses seem designed for someone else entirely. Either they're sleeveless, which at my age means a shrug I'll be wrestling with all afternoon, or they fit beautifully standing up and become an instrument of torture the moment I sit down to eat.

What I wanted was one graceful dress that flattered on its own: arms covered, waist defined, nothing pinching, nothing to adjust.

Then I found the Serelith from a British label called York Boutique — a soft pink printed maxi with a deep-red trim, and it's quietly become my answer to every invitation.

The shape is all in the cut, which is the part I appreciate most. The wrap front and the seamed waistline give you a figure without anything squeezing — I ate three courses at my niece's wedding in complete comfort. The little puff sleeves cover exactly the part of the arm most of us want covered, while still feeling summery. The print is soft pink with a deep wine-red trim along the edge, which reads as considered rather than loud, and the floor-skimming length is genuinely graceful — long enough to flow, not so long that I spent the day gathering it up on stairs.

The wrap cut and the defined waist do the shaping, the little puff sleeves cover the tops of my arms, and the length skims the floor without me tripping over it. I wore it for six hours and never once tugged at it.

It has now done a wedding, a golden wedding anniversary and a christening, and each time someone has asked where it was from. My sister called it 'a proper occasion dress that doesn't try too hard', which is precisely the review I'd write myself.

Now — it's £39.95, and I'll admit I hesitated a day at that price. What convinced me was arithmetic: it's down from £110 in the sale, it has already replaced three 'nearly right' dresses that hang unworn, and I'd checked I could send it back within a fortnight with free delivery if it disappointed. It didn't. It's a soft breathable fabric, and it comes in sizes UK 8/10 to 16/18.

If your wardrobe also has a row of 'nearly right' occasion dresses, do treat yourself to a look. The Serelith is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 250 women, it's £39.95 in the sale instead of £110, and the middle sizes always seem to go first.