Hermes Evelyne 29 CM Bag Handmade In Taurillon Clemence Leather Gold Hardware 65 Vert Moyen

There is a stretch of late spring when only green will do, and Vert Moyen is that green: a clear, medium tone that is neither mint nor forest. I bought mine at the start of the garden season and it quickly became my bag for the particular pleasure of a market on a Saturday morning, when everything is fresh and unhurried. It is a green that behaves in photographs as well as in person, neither acidic in sun nor dull in shade.

The middle-size Evelyne is well matched to that pace. Twenty-nine centimetres carries a phone, a small wallet, keys, sunglasses and a paper bag of peaches without complaint, and the open top means no time is wasted on closures. The soft Clemence body leans against the hip as I walk, and the perforated H lets you see the grain through the pattern up close.

Gold-tone hardware draws out the warmth in the green and makes it feel closer to olive in dim light, which helps it dress up for lunch afterwards. One honest note: green leathers, especially mid-tones, can look dull if dust settles into the grain, so a quick buff with a soft dry cloth brings the surface back to life.

By autumn the bag sits just as happily with wool and grey. A green this even-tempered is rarer than it sounds, and that is why mine rarely makes it back to the shelf. Come autumn it looks right again with charcoal and oatmeal, which is rare for a green this clear.