Hermes Birkin 25 Bag Handmade In Swift Calfskin Leather Silver Hardware 0M Chai

Chai is a milky beige with a touch of warmth, and on smooth Swift it looks almost like a cup of tea with milk in it. It is the colour I would choose for someone who wants a pale bag but finds Craie too stark and Etoupe too grey.

Swift has a fine, close grain and a lovely soft hand, so the bag feels lighter in the palm than a rigid Epsom version, and the body has a gentle drape when set down. The frame is twenty-five by twenty by thirteen centimetres with gold-tone hardware. Chai also shifts tone with what you wear: it looks warmer beside cream and cooler beside white.

Contents at this size are phone, card wallet, keys, compact and a lipstick in a small pouch. It is a city bag, not a carry-all. I have taken it to a wedding and to a grocery run in the same week and it did not look out of place at either.

The trade-off worth naming: Swift is the most mark-prone leather in my collection. Light beige hides dust well but shows a fingernail crease, and this colour will show colour transfer from dark clothing at the contact points. One small habit that helps: I rotate which handle roll takes the weight so the leather wears evenly.

Faded areas, if they appear, tend to be along the top of the flap from repeated opening. Mine is a year old, and a faint softness there is the only sign of use.