Hermes Neo Garden Party 23 Bag Handmade In Negonda Calfskin Leather Silver Hardware 75 Blue Jean

If your wardrobe lives in denim, the color decision is already made for you. Bleu Jean is a mid denim blue, not navy, not pastel, and the Neo Garden Party 23 wears it like a favorite pair of jeans: casual, reliable, slightly faded at the edges by design.

It is a hand bag, first and last. The proportions are 23 centimeters long, 16 high and 10 through the body, and that takes a phone, a slim cardholder, keys, sunglasses and a sunglasses cloth that always disappears. It is the size I take when a shoulder bag would be overkill and pockets would be optimistic. The handles are cut wide enough to be comfortable for a whole afternoon of errands.

Negonda calfskin keeps the blue soft rather than saturated, so there is none of the tarp-like flatness that thinner blue leathers have. Silver hardware at the closure tabs is the finishing touch: think of it as the rivet on the jeans.

One caveat: matching denim to denim is a trick, and the trick is contrast. The bag reads best against pale, gray or black denim; against a near-identical mid-blue it visually merges and the shape stops registering. Also, no strap, hand carry only, as with every Neo 23. On the other hand, denim on denim on Sunday is a uniform I fully endorse.

For weekends, it is the least fussy bag I own. That is the highest praise I have. It goes everywhere my jeans go.