Hermès Birkin 25 Bag Handmade In Togo Calfskin Leather Gold Hardware OG Rouge Sellier

Last month I took this bag to a long dinner and it sat on my lap through three courses without asking anything of me – no slithering off the knee, no bulge against the table. That is the first thing to understand about a 25: it is a bag you can hold all evening without thinking about your arms.

The measurements are 25 by 20 by 13 centimetres, close to a pair of cupped hands held side by side. A phone, a small compact, keys, a lipstick and a folded silk scarf live comfortably inside; the scarf is the trick for winter, tucked along the base to cushion everything else. The clochette sits quietly against a handle, and the padlock stays home unless I am travelling.

Togo, from France, is the softest of the regular leathers – a rounded pebble grain that takes deep red beautifully and settles into gentle folds at the sides over time. Gold hardware on this colour is a deliberate match: the warm metal agrees with the brown undertone of the red instead of competing with it. The grain has a warmth before the light even touches it, which is why the red feels inhabited rather than applied.

The trade-off is that Togo will slouch. If you want a bag that stands to attention on a shelf, this one will eventually lean instead, softening where your hand pulls the flap. I count that as the leather growing up around me – but it is worth choosing knowingly.