OK you’ve eaten your Bûche. You now need clothes that look elegant but have that crucial factor – an elastic waistband. American Vintage may not sound like it, but it’s actually a homegrown French brand (and sells at Le Bon Marché). Their virtue rests in a mega-decadent process that would have your mother screaming. What? They wash the clothes until they’re almost see-through with wear? The answer is, yes, but they look all the better for that. Soft, delicate loungewear in appropriately washed-out colours for all-season layering. Watch out for the one size fits all label: some of their T-shirts are drapey but also clingy, which can be less than flattering unless you’re ligne is irreproachable. On the other hand I have the T-shirt pictured here ends somewhere between my thighs and my knees (maybe it’s meant to? I like it anyway).