She owns five M&S variations and still her appetite is insatiable. “I go into Marks & Spencer every two weeks and the only thing I seem to want to buy at the moment is another velvet shirt. I’ve got my eye on a new one that is slightly different because it’s got a devore velvet cuff and collar, and is a bit more jackety than the others I just find them so useful. I like to wear lots of chunky jewellery and the colours of the shirts really complement anything I decide to wear. They are also absolutely brilliant because I go to a lot of events that I have to attend straight after work and because they are velvet they look dressy enough for the evening.”Janet, 51, is another fan. She bought a chocolate brown shirt last December and has been wearing it ever since.

She works shifts and can work in the afternoon or up to midnight: “It’s quite hard to find things to wear. You are stuck between comfy pyjama-style outfits and shoulder-padded suits, neither of which make you feel smart and comfortable. My velvet shirt crosses both borders.”However, you can have too much of a good thing. Every week at London’s Marble Arch branch alone, 1,000 of them are bought by women thankful that they have bought a piece of clothing they know they will wear forever and a day.

The shirt is equally useful for daytime or night, worn with trousers or skirts. They cover all the lumps and bumps, they feel comfortable, look glamorous and they wash well.This shirt cannot lose and has been imitated up and down the high street. Other versions include one by Jeffrey Rogers, which at pounds 24.99 is cheaper, and by Karen Millen, made of stretch velvet and in a slimmer cut (pounds 89.95). Last Christmas was like being squashed in a jewellery box between four velvet walls. Everyone turned up for Christmas dinner in the same shirt.Again this year they have appeared on the rails of your local branch of M&S This season, there is a version in devore velvet too The problem is they are totally irresistible. For the price of one Gucci shirt, you could afford an M&S equivalent in every colour for you and a friend. By Christmas, mothers and daughters were wearing matching shirts And so were their friends.