A letter from a reader

At 62, I wanted one dress that did all the work. I finally found it.

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 when I popped into town on Saturday, and when that happens at 62 you start to think there might be something in it.

The truth is, getting dressed had started to feel like too much. Some mornings I simply did not have the energy to stand at the wardrobe putting an outfit together, working out what went with what and whether it was flattering. But I still wanted to look like myself, and not like I had given up. So most days I reached for the same tired things and hoped nobody would look too closely.

I wanted to look like I had made an effort, on the days I had none left to give.

And I had quietly decided that a dress like that simply did not exist for a woman my age.

Then I saw it on a friend

A friend of mine wore one to lunch and looked so effortlessly put together that I had to ask. 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. Mine is the Jenny, a soft blue and white striped one, and it comes in ten colours. I ordered it that same evening before I could talk myself out of it.

What happened in town

I wore it into town the next weekend, having done absolutely nothing more than throw it on and do up a couple of buttons. Instead of blending into the background as usual, three separate women came over to ask me where it was from. Three. My friend Sue said I looked so pulled together, and I had to laugh, because it was the least effort I had made in weeks.

That was the moment it clicked for me. I had spent years believing that looking nice meant hard work, and here was a simple dress that quietly did the work for me.

Three things I have learned since

One. The stripes do the flattering. The long vertical stripes draw the eye up and down, so I look taller and a little slimmer than I am, without holding anything in. It is the cleverest thing, and it costs you nothing.

Two. It could not be easier to wear. It buttons down the front so it is simple to put on and adjust, the fabric is light and cool on a warm day, and there are proper pockets. No fuss, no fiddling.

Three. One dress, so many days. I have worn it into town, to a lunch, and to a little evening do with a cardigan over it. It quietly rises to whatever the day turns out to be.

About the price

I will be honest, when I saw how little it was I was a bit suspicious. A dress that looks this considered usually costs a great deal more.

The Jenny is £34.95. It was £70.00.

There was no catch. It arrived quickly, it goes straight in the machine, and it looked exactly like the picture, which we all know is not always the way.

I did go and read the reviews before I ordered a second one in the green. 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 practically lived in it. I put it on and I am ready, and I always get a compliment." 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 some days you do not have the effort to spare, and it is a lovely thing to own one dress that makes the effort for you.

Order your usual size, pick the colour that makes you smile, and give yourself an easier morning.

It is the rarest kind of dress. The one that does all the work for you and still looks like you.

Caroline