A letter from a reader

At 62, I wanted to look expensive without spending a fortune

I have never written to a shop before, and I am a little embarrassed that my first letter is about a jacket.

You know the women I mean. The ones who walk into a restaurant in a simple cream coat and somehow look like they own the place. I always assumed that look cost a fortune. Every time I tried to copy it on a budget, the fabric looked thin, the buttons looked cheap, and I ended up looking like I had made do.

I could either spend money I did not have, or accept looking a bit ordinary. I did not think there was a third choice.

So I stopped trying, and stuck to my navy anorak.

Then I saw one at the theatre

In the interval at the Theatre Royal there was a woman about my age in the most beautiful cream jacket. A tall stand collar, three big covered buttons, and a shape that went in at the waist and fell just right. No fuss at all. She looked like money. I was so taken with it that I actually asked her where it was from, fully expecting a name I could not afford. She laughed and said Nottingham Boutique, a little boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is called the Lettina. I ordered mine that evening.

What happened at my cousin's anniversary lunch

I wore it to my cousin's ruby wedding lunch at a country hotel, buttoned up over my navy trousers with my good tan handbag. Three different women asked me about it before we had even sat down, and one of them asked me which designer it was. My friend Sue told me I looked like I had made an effort, which I have decided to take as a compliment. My cousin said I looked like I had come into money.

I had not been looked at like that in years. Not because of anything flashy. Just because it looked right.

Three things I have learned since

One. Expensive is about the details. A tall stand collar instead of lapels, and three big buttons covered in the same fabric. No shiny metal, nothing that shouts. That is what makes it look like a designer piece.

Two. Cream lifts your whole face. I had been hiding in navy and black for years. Cream near the face is kinder than I ever expected, and it goes with everything.

Three. The shape does the work. Long seams pull it in at the waist and then it falls gently to the top of the thigh, so it skims rather than clings. Two pockets are tucked into the side seams, so nothing spoils the line.

About the price

When I saw the price I honestly thought there must be a mistake.

The Lettina is £40.95. It was £82.

There is no catch. They have their autumn sale on and delivery is free. It comes in beige, grey, black and khaki, from a UK 8 up to a UK 18.

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, "Everyone thinks it cost three times what I paid. I am not telling them otherwise." 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.

Looking expensive was never about spending a lot. It is about one good piece with a clean shape and no fuss. Get that right and the rest of your outfit can be as simple as you like.

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