At 62, I used to get changed in my daughter's downstairs loo the minute I arrived
At 62, I used to get changed in my daughter's downstairs loo the minute I arrived
Six things this soft knit set gets right that my two-outfit journeys never did, from a woman who is not a fashion writer.
Caroline Richards · Customer · Nottinghamshire · 5 min read
Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Caroline, I am 62, I live in Nottinghamshire, and my daughter lives in Bristol, which is three hours on the train with a change at Birmingham. For years I did that journey the same way. Something comfortable to sit in, and something nicer folded in my bag. The minute I was through her door I would say hello, kiss the children and disappear into her downstairs loo to change, elbows banging on the walls, while everybody waited for me in the kitchen.
I do not do that any more. What changed it is from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is called the Helene, a soft knit jumper and a pair of matching wide-leg trousers, and mine is a lovely warm camel. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
No more changing in the loo. Read on.
Here is how it happens, and I suspect it happens to a lot of us. The clothes that are kind to you on a long journey are not the clothes you want to walk into somebody's house in. And the clothes you want to arrive in are not the ones you want to sit in for three hours. So you take both, and you spend the first ten minutes of every visit getting changed.
I did not need a nicer outfit for the visit. I needed one outfit that was kind on the train and still looked like I had made an effort when the door opened.
The Helene is the first thing I have owned that does both, and having made the trip in it twice now, with Christmas still to come, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The afternoon it came. Both pieces, the very same camel.
One outfit, already matched
The jumper and the trousers come together, in the same knit and the same colour, so there is nothing to decide at six in the morning when the taxi is due. I put on both pieces, a pair of flat shoes and my coat, and I am done. The boutique says it is made so you look put together with no effort at all, and that is exactly how it feels.
The night before. One outfit out on the bed, nothing spare folded in the case.
I wore it to my son's in Leeds and did not take a change of clothes. First time in years.
Sandra W., GranthamSoft enough for three hours sat down
The knit is soft to the touch, with enough body that it does not feel flimsy. The jumper is relaxed and roomy and it skims rather than clings, so nothing pulls when I am sat by the window with my tea, and nothing digs in by the time we get to Birmingham.
Somewhere after Birmingham, tea going cold, still comfortable.
So soft. I wore it on a coach trip to Bath and felt lovely all day.
Elaine M., WorksopTrousers that hang properly
The trousers are wide-leg and cut straight from the hip, so they fall right down to my shoes and move when I walk. When I stand up from the train seat they drop back into place, and they look far smarter than anything I used to travel in. They are the part my daughter noticed first.
The trousers hang beautifully. I am only five foot two and they still look elegant with a little heel.
Janet F., HucknallCuffs and hem that stay where they should
The jumper has deep ribbed cuffs and a deep ribbed hem. The cuffs hold the full sleeves at my wrists, so they stay out of the tea and the washing up, and the hem sits nicely at my hips over the trousers. The boutique says the ribbing keeps its shape, and so far, it has.
On the wardrobe door, ready for the next trip.
Love the deep cuffs. The sleeves stay put and it looks well made.
Lesley T., Long EatonIt looks like an effort when the door opens
This is the one I bought it for. A jumper and trousers in one colour look like an outfit somebody chose, not something somebody travelled in. The camel is soft and warm-toned, it goes with my navy coat and my tan shoes, and when my daughter opened the door she said, before anything else, that I looked nice. I went straight into the kitchen with everybody else.
Wore the camel to Sunday lunch at my daughter-in-law's and got three compliments. Smart but so easy.
Anne B., EastwoodFourteen colours, and proper sizes
Mine is the camel, but it comes in fourteen colours, from cream, beige and two greys to navy, black, chocolate, burgundy, forest green and a bright fuchsia. The sizes go from UK 8/10 right up to UK 22/24.
Bought the navy for travelling and went back for the cream for Christmas Day.
Gwen H., KeyworthThis, against my two-outfit journeys
Most of us have a travelling outfit and an arriving outfit, and a bag that weighs twice what it should because of it. I know, because I did it for years. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Comfy clothes for the train
A nicer outfit folded in my bag
Changing in the downstairs loo
Tops that clung when I sat
Ten minutes late to say hello
One soft knit outfit
Nothing spare to pack
Straight into the kitchen
Relaxed, skims rather than clings
Looks right the moment I arrive
About the price
The Helene is £47.95 at the moment, for both pieces. It was £96.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that with Christmas visiting coming up the middle sizes are going first, and once this batch has gone it can be a long wait for it to come back. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that I have paid more than that for a pair of trousers on their own, and I have never once worn those to Bristol and back.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars, which sounded like real women rather than robots, so I read on. The same six things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women's words.
If you have a long journey to family coming up this Christmas and you are already planning which outfit to pack for when you get there, I would start here. Not because you need more clothes, but because you deserve to walk through their door feeling like yourself. Go and have a look while your size is still there.
Caroline
HELENE | Soft Knit Jumper & Trouser Set
- Two pieces, one outfit: a relaxed jumper and matching trousers
- Soft cotton-blend knit with enough body to hold its shape
- Wide-leg trousers cut straight from the hip
- Deep ribbed cuffs and hem
- Fourteen colours, UK 8/10 to UK 22/24
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The sale is on now, half price. The middle sizes are going first.