Hermes Lindy 26 CM Bag Handmade In Taurillon Clemence Leather Silver Hardware 89 Noir

My rule for travel is one bag that does mornings and evenings. This Lindy 26 in Noir with silver hardware has filled that role on four trips now: at the airport it is an under-seat bag, at dinner it is a shoulder bag, and it never looks wrong in either place.

The size helps – twenty-six centimetres across, eighteen tall, twelve deep – big enough for a passport, a zip wallet, a phone, sunglasses, a small toiletry pouch and a scarf, small enough that it never becomes a burden on a long day. Clemence’s soft, pebbled leather drapes when the bag is half-full, which makes it hug the body instead of swinging.

Mechanically, everything works one-handed: the strap clips on both sides, the exterior pockets take a boarding pass and phone, and the main compartment has no zips or dividers to fight. The single flap keeps the top closed without ceremony.

What to know before buying: black Clemence attracts lint like a magnet and the matte finish can look ashy if it gets very dry. And the 26 will not hold a laptop, so if you want one bag for everything, size up in the range.

As a forever-black daily bag, though, it has been faultless. In a restaurant I loop the strap around the chair back, and it hangs quietly through dinner instead of sinking into the seat cushion; in a taxi it rides on my lap without getting in the way.