A letter from a reader

At 62, I wore a proper pattern again without looking like the curtains

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

Here is the truth of it. Somewhere in my fifties I stopped wearing anything with a pattern on it. Every bold print I tried in a changing room looked like it belonged on a sofa, or like I had dressed up as somebody's aunt in a costume drama. So I went back to plain navy, plain black and the occasional grey, and told myself it was classic. It was not classic. It was hiding.

I thought a woman my age had two choices with a pattern. Too much, or too safe. So I picked safe, and wore the same navy for about eight years.

So I gave up on patterns, and the plain things took over the whole wardrobe.

Then I saw it on a friend at a birthday lunch

My friend Pauline walked in wearing a loose green shirt covered in paisley, navy and cream and a little gold, open over a plain black top with jeans. It had a proper collar and the sleeves were turned up once, and she looked interesting rather than fussy. I asked her where it was from before we had even ordered. She told me it was the Draya, 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 the next lunch

I wore it a fortnight later, open over my black top with dark jeans, sleeves turned up once. Three different women asked me where it was from before the puddings arrived, and my friend Sue told me I looked like I had made an effort, which I have decided to take as a compliment.

What surprised me was how little I thought about it once I had it on. I was not checking myself in every window, wondering if the pattern was too much. It simply looked like me, with a bit more to say.

Three things I have learned since

One. The cut saves the print. It is loose and easy through the body with a curved hem, so the pattern sits on a relaxed shape rather than being stretched across one. That is the whole difference between stylish and soft furnishings.

Two. A proper collar makes it a shirt. A classic collar and a full button front make it look deliberate. I wear it open over black, or buttoned up with the collar out.

Three. It works with what you already own. Denim, dark trousers, a skirt. Tucked in or left out, as the mood takes you.

About the price

When I saw the price I was suspicious. A print this detailed, I assumed, would either cost a small fortune or look cheap the moment it came out of the bag.

The Draya is £29.95. It was £60.

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 have not worn a print in years because they always looked too much on me. This one just looks smart. I have ordered the second colour." 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.

Plain is not the same as smart, and it is certainly not the same as safe. Try one thing with a bit of pattern on it. If it is cut loose and the colours are soft, it will look like character rather than curtains.

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