A letter from a reader

At 62, I thought hoodies were for my grandchildren

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

For years I thought hoodies were for teenagers. Grey, shapeless, a slogan across the front, my grandson slouching about in one with the hood up. Lovely and cosy, I could see that, but not for a woman my age. So on cold afternoons in the garden I made do with an old fleece and a cardigan on top, and still felt the chill round my neck and shoulders the moment the sun went in.

I wanted something as cosy as a hoodie that did not make me look like I was trying to be sixteen.

So I put up with it, and left the hoodies to the grandchildren.

Then I saw one on a friend at the craft fair

Pat was helping on the cake stall in what I took at first for a handmade patchwork top: big soft panels of sage green, rust, cream stripes and a little orange check, all stitched together like one of my mother's quilts, with wide sleeves that draped beautifully and a hood at the back. It was a hoodie. A grown-up one. She told me it was the Cinder, from Nottingham Boutique, a little boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now, and that they had a whole collection of them in autumn patchwork. I ordered mine that evening.

What happened at Apple Day

Our village has its Apple Day every October, all of us in the orchard pressing juice and eating far too much crumble. I wore the Cinder over a white top with my jeans, hood down, and was warm all afternoon. Three different women asked me about it, one of them at the juice press, and my friend Sue told me I looked like I had made an effort, which I have decided to take as a compliment. My granddaughter asked if she could borrow it. She cannot.

It is a small thing, a hoodie that suits you. I had forgotten how nice it is to be properly cosy and still look like yourself.

Three things I have learned since

One. Patchwork makes it grown-up. The big panels of sage, rust, cream and orange look like something handmade, not something from the teenage aisle. The warm autumn shades go with jeans, leggings or cords.

Two. The shape is so forgiving. It is roomy and relaxed, with wide batwing sleeves that end around the elbow and drape beautifully. It skims rather than clings, so there is no tugging it down all day.

Three. A hood is a lovely thing to have. When the wind gets up in the garden or on a walk, you just pull it up and tighten the drawstring. On a cooler day it slips straight over a long-sleeved top.

About the price

I had assumed anything that looked this handmade would cost a fortune.

The Cinder is £32.95. It was £66.

There is no catch. They have their autumn sale on and delivery is free. There are twenty different autumn patchwork designs in the collection, all the same price, from a UK 8 right up to a UK 24. I have my eye on a second one already.

I did go and read the reviews before I ordered. 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 never thought I would wear a hoodie at my age. Now I have two and I get stopped every time." 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.

Do not leave all the cosy things to the grandchildren. Find the one that looks like it was made for you, and wear it.

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