A letter from a reader

At 62, I had dreaded my niece's wedding. Then I found a dress that made me feel beautiful again.

I almost did not write this down, because it is only a dress and I am not the sort of woman who gets excited about clothes any more. But three different people stopped to ask me about it at my niece's wedding on Saturday, and when that happens at 62 you start to think there might be something in it.

If I am honest, I had been dreading the wedding for weeks. Not the day itself, but the finding of something to wear. Everything for a woman my age seemed to be either a stiff two piece in a colour I would never choose, or something far too young that I would spend the whole day tugging at. I did not want to look like I had given up, and I did not want to look like I was pretending to be a girl. I just wanted to feel like myself, only a little bit lovelier.

Somewhere along the way I had decided that beautiful was a thing that had quietly stopped being for me.

So I had all but resigned myself to the same tired old outfit and a good brooch.

Then I came across the Kenza

I found it almost by accident. It is from Nottingham Boutique, a little boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years, and they had their summer sale on. It is a soft sage green gown with a delicate embroidered floral all over it, a gentle V neck and little flutter sleeves, and a skirt that falls right to the floor. It looked like something you would pay a great deal more for. I ordered it that same evening before I could talk myself out of it.

What happened at the wedding

I wore it to the wedding not quite believing I could carry it off. Instead, three separate women came over to ask me where it was from. Three. My friend Sue looked me up and down and said I looked like I had made an effort, which coming from Sue I have decided to take as a compliment. I did not want to take it off at the end of the night.

That was the moment it clicked for me. I had spent years believing that feeling beautiful was behind me, and here was a simple dress that gently proved me wrong.

Three things I have learned since

One. The right length is kind. A long skirt that floats when you move is far more forgiving, and far more graceful, than anything that stops at the knee and asks questions of your legs.

Two. A little sleeve makes all the difference. The soft flutter sleeves sit gently over the tops of my arms, so I felt covered and at ease all day, and never once reached for a cardigan.

Three. Sage green is a gift at our age. It is soft and grown up, it suits nearly everyone, and the embroidered flowers catch the light so the whole thing looks far more expensive than it was.

About the price

I will be honest, when I saw how little it was I was a bit suspicious. A gown that looks like this usually has a price to match, and I half expected a catch.

The Kenza is £34.95. It was £70.00.

There was no catch. It arrived quickly, it is light and easy to wear, and it looked exactly like the picture, which we all know is not always the way.

I did go and read the reviews first. 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 been to three weddings dreading the photos, and this is the first time I have actually liked how I looked in them." That was the one that decided it for me.

What I would tell you if we were friends

If you were sitting across from me with a cup of tea, I would not give you a sales pitch. I would just say that I had quietly written myself off for anything lovely, and one dress reminded me I had not run out of occasions to feel beautiful for.

If you have a wedding or a special evening coming up, order your usual size and give yourself the chance.

It is the rarest kind of occasion dress. The one that turns a few heads and still makes you feel like yourself.

Caroline