Hermes Lindy 30 CM Bag Handmade In Taurillon Clemence Leather Gold Hardware ck37 Gold

Tone-on-tone can go wrong in two ways: washed out or sickly. Gold leather on gold hardware avoids both here because the tan has enough brown in it to ground the metal – the effect is like a cognac leather watch strap rather than anything sweet.

This is the Lindy 30 in the colour the house, confusingly, also calls Gold: a warm camel that flatters almost every complexion and every coat colour I have tried it with. Clemence’s pebbled grain gives it texture and a matte, slightly dusty surface that keeps it casual; the rolled handles polish it back up when you carry it by hand.

Thirty centimetres across, nineteen tall and sixteen deep. Daily load: a tablet, a wallet, a cosmetic pouch, sunglasses, a water bottle and a light jumper in winter – the depth soaks up bulk. My phone rides in the left exterior pocket, keys in the right, and the clasps have loosened to a comfortable one-hand open.

Two honest notes. Camel leather darkens where hands and straps rub, so the handles will deepen a shade over a year – most people love it, but it is a change. And Clemence has no structured base; on the floor of a taxi it flops. Set it down with a little care and it returns the favour.

Of everything in this batch, it is the Lindy I would gift someone with zero hesitation. The camel also photographs more truthfully than any other colour here, which is why it appears in more of my holiday pictures than any other bag.