A letter from a reader

At 62, I was too hot in a cardigan and too cold without one

I have never written to a shop before, and I did not expect my first letter to be about a cardigan with no sleeves.

Every autumn it is the same in our house. The heating goes on, then off, then on again, and I spend the whole day putting a cardigan on and taking it off. With it on, I am pushing the sleeves up to wash a pan, peel the potatoes or put the kettle on, and ten minutes later I am too warm and it is over the back of a chair. With it off, my middle goes cold and I am reaching for it again. My husband says I change more often than the weather forecast.

I was either too hot or too cold, and never once just right.

So I put up with it, and kept a cardigan on the back of every chair in the house.

Then I saw it on a friend at book club

Margaret was sat in Pat's front room in a white blouse with a burgundy knitted waistcoat buttoned over it, and the first thing I noticed was the buttons: a long row of little round ones all the way down the front, every one a different soft colour. The second thing I noticed was that she was the only one of us who had not taken her cardigan off by the second cup of tea. "No sleeves," she said, "so I never get too hot, and my middle stays warm." She told me it was the Vineria, from Nottingham Boutique, a little boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. I ordered mine that evening.

What happened at Sunday lunch

I wore it to my sister's for Sunday lunch, over my good white blouse, and I did not take it off once. Not when the oven was on, not when we sat out in the conservatory, not when I did the washing up after. Three different women asked me about the buttons, two of them at the table and one of them in the car park, and my friend Sue told me I looked like I had made an effort, which I have decided to take as a compliment. My sister has already asked for one for Christmas.

It is a small thing, being the right temperature. I had forgotten how much more comfortable a whole day can be.

Three things I have learned since

One. Warmth where you want it. It keeps your middle cosy, and with no sleeves your arms stay free, so there is nothing to push up and nothing to dip in the washing-up water.

Two. It makes a plain outfit look thought about. A white blouse and navy trousers on their own look like I have given up. Put this over the top and that cheerful row of buttons does all the work. People notice them, and they ask.

Three. It layers like a dream. It sits neatly over a shirt or a blouse, and it goes under a coat without any bulk on your arms. The ribbed neck, armholes and hem keep it looking neat all day.

About the price

I had assumed something this cheerful would cost the earth.

The Vineria is £29.95. It was £60.

There is no catch. They have their autumn sale on and delivery is free. Mine is the burgundy, and it also comes in black, stone, green, rust and olive, from a UK 6 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, "I used to spend all day taking my cardigan on and off. Now I put this on in the morning and forget about it." 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.

Count the cardigans on the backs of your chairs. If there is more than one, you do not need another cardigan. You need one without sleeves.

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