Hermes Lindy 26 CM Bag Handmade In Taurillon Clemence Leather Silver Hardware 2Z Bleu Niut

Every closet needs one bag that only pretends to be black. Bleu Nuit — midnight blue — is that bag for me. At night it is black; in the sun, over a cup of coffee, the blue reveals itself and the whole outfit lifts. It has the advantages of a dark bag without the occasional grimness of true black, and the silver hardware keeps the blue on the cool side of the street.

In Taurillon Clemence this color has depth for days: the pebbled surface breaks the light into small, matte facets, so the blue never looks flat or synthetic. The bag’s shell measures 26 centimetres wide, 18 tall and 12 deep, with the familiar soft geometry — this is the version that most easily goes from a Monday meeting to a Friday dinner.

Inside on a normal Monday: phone, wallet, keys, a compact, glasses, and a pouch of cables; a folded cardigan goes on top in air conditioning. The zipped side sections take a monthly metro pass and earbuds. I carry it cross-body with the handles down, then flip the handles up and drop the strap when I sit down for dinner, which takes about a second.

The one limitation: this is the bag most likely to be described as sensible. If you want compliments from strangers, choose the bright pieces. If you want a bag that has never once clashed with anything you own, this is the one you will reach for three days out of five — I know, because mine is on chair duty right now.