A letter from a reader

At 62, I finally found a hoodie that does not look like I borrowed it from my grandson

I have never written to a shop before, and I did not expect my first letter to be about a hoodie.

Here is the truth of it. I have always envied how easy a hoodie looks. You pull it on, you are warm through, and you get on with your day. But every time I tried one in a shop, I looked like I was off to the gym, or like I had pinched it from my grandson's bedroom floor. Thick, sporty, a big pocket on the front, and somehow it made me look scruffy and older at the same time.

I thought a woman my age had to choose between clothes that were easy and clothes that looked nice. So I chose nice, and spent my weekends in stiff cardigans I was forever buttoning and unbuttoning.

So I gave up on the idea, and left the hoodies to the grandchildren.

Then I saw it on a friend at the garden centre

My friend Pauline met me for a coffee at the garden centre wearing the softest oatmeal knitted hoodie over a white T-shirt and jeans. It hung beautifully, with wide sleeves that stopped just past the elbow, and she looked relaxed and elegant at the same time. I asked her where it was from before she had even taken her seat. She told me it was the Celinda, from Nottingham Boutique, a little boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. I ordered mine that evening.

What happened at our coffee morning

I wore it to our Saturday coffee morning with my white T-shirt and my jeans, and nothing else to think about. Three different women asked me where it was from before the kettle had boiled, and my friend Sue told me I looked like I had made an effort, which I have decided to take as a compliment.

What I noticed most was how easy the whole morning felt. I was not tugging at buttons or pushing sleeves up to pour the tea. I was just comfortable, and for once comfortable looked like a choice rather than giving up.

Three things I have learned since

One. Knitted changes everything. It has all the ease of a hoodie, the hood and the long drawstrings, but it is soft knit rather than sporty jersey, so it looks like something a grown woman chose.

Two. The shape does the work. It is relaxed and oversized, with a ribbed hem and little splits at the sides, so it falls nicely over jeans instead of clinging. The wide sleeves stop just past the elbow, which I had not expected to love as much as I do.

Three. It goes with what you already have. Jeans, trousers, leggings, a plain white T-shirt underneath. I have not had to buy a single thing to go with it.

About the price

When I saw the price I was suspicious. Something this soft and this nicely made, I assumed, would either cost a small fortune or look cheap the moment it came out of the bag.

The Celinda is £35.95. It was £72.

There is no catch. They have their autumn sale on, delivery is free, and it arrived looking exactly as it did in the pictures.

I did go and read the reviews before I ordered a second one. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars. Not the suspiciously perfect five you see on some sites, which if I am honest made me trust it more. One woman had written, "I wanted something as comfy as a hoodie that did not make me look like a teenager. This is it. I have had so many compliments." That was the one that decided it for me.

What I would tell you if we were friends

If you came round and we sat out on the porch with a cup of tea, this is what I would tell you.

You are allowed to be comfortable and still look lovely. You do not have to leave the easy clothes to the grandchildren. Find the one that is made for you, and wear it without a second thought.

It does not look like it was made for somebody half my age, and it does not look like I have given up either.

Caroline