Real stories · Three outfits hiding in one blouse

Three Outfits Hiding In One White Blouse

One white blouse, three different outfits, no thinking before breakfast — that's what I was promised, and the Marisse has actually delivered it.

My wardrobe problem wasn't too few clothes. It was too many clothes that only work one way. The jumper that needs the one pair of trousers. The top that's fine for the shop but wrong for lunch. Every morning a small jigsaw, and in winter — when half of it is in the wash and the other half needs ironing — the jigsaw gets worse.

The Marisse, from York Boutique — a British label I've ordered from all autumn — is the first thing I've bought in years that refuses to be fussy about what it's worn with. It went with my navy trousers on Tuesday, my grey skirt on Thursday, and under a cardigan to Sandra's on Saturday, and looked deliberate every single time.

The trick is in how light it is. It's soft and airy and lets the skin breathe, which is why it layers so well in winter — under a cardigan or a coat it never bunches or clings, and on a warm afternoon indoors it's fine on its own. And that ruffle trim along the buttons does quietly what a necklace normally has to do, so even with plain trousers you look finished.

Dressed in one decision, three mornings running — and nobody saw the same outfit twice.

At lunch with Margaret on Thursday she asked if I'd been shopping again — I had to admit it was the same blouse she'd seen two days earlier, just dressed differently. She didn't believe me until I listed it. I'll admit 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 — but it fits the way the photos promise, relaxed without being shapeless.

It comes in seven colours (I have the white, and I'm eyeing the blue) in sizes UK 8/10 to 18/20. If your mornings also start with a jigsaw, this is the corner piece.