A letter from a reader

At 62, I never had a thing to wear on the days too cold for a cardigan and too warm for my big coat

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

It is the in-between days that always caught me out. A bright October morning, a nip in the air, the sun trying its best. I would put a cardigan on and be shivering by the end of the road. So the next time I would get the big winter coat out, and twenty minutes later I would be in a shop, red in the face, with the coat over my arm and my handbag sliding off my shoulder. Half of autumn and most of spring are days like that, and I never once got it right.

I could be cold in my cardigan, or I could be boiling in my winter coat. I had decided that at my age there was nothing in between.

So I just picked one every morning and put up with it.

Then I saw one on my friend Pauline at the farmers' market

Pauline was in the prettiest soft pink jacket, all little curls like a teddy bear, buttoned up over a jumper with the collar folded down. I said she must be warm in that. She said that was the thing, she was not too warm and not too cold, she had worn it all morning and not once had to take it off. She told me it was from Nottingham Boutique, a little boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is called the Tonya. I ordered mine that evening.

What happened at the garden centre café

I wore it to meet the girls at the garden centre on one of those sunny, chilly mornings, and I was comfortable from the car park to the last crumb of cake. We even sat outside. Three different women asked me about it before we had finished our tea, and my friend Sue told me I looked like I had made an effort, which I have decided to take as a compliment.

It is a small thing, a jacket. But not having to guess what to put on every morning has made getting out of the house a lot easier.

Three things I have learned since

One. You need a middle layer. A cardigan is not enough on a chilly morning and a winter coat is far too much. The Tonya sits nicely in between. It is a soft, curly faux fur that looks and feels cosy, without the weight of a proper coat.

Two. Buy it roomy enough for a jumper. It has a relaxed, straight cut that slips easily over a jumper and finishes at the hip, so on colder days you just add a layer underneath instead of reaching for the big coat.

Three. A good collar does a lot of work. The wide collar folds down neatly and keeps the chill off your neck, the buttons are big and easy to do up, and there are two patch pockets on the front. It looks smart enough for lunch out and easy enough for the garden.

About the price

I had expected a jacket this soft to cost a good deal more.

The Tonya is £36.95. It was £74.

There is no catch. They have their autumn sale on and delivery is free. It comes in the dusty pink I chose, plus black, sage green and mustard, from a UK 8 up to a UK 24.

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, "I wear it nearly every day from September to April. Over a jumper when it is cold and on its own when the sun is out. Best thing I have bought in years." 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.

If you spend every autumn either shivering in a cardigan or boiling in your winter coat, you are not doing anything wrong. You are just missing the layer in between. Find yourself one soft, cosy jacket that you can throw on over a jumper, and those in-between days get a whole lot nicer.

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