Hermes Kelly 25 Bag Handmade In Epsom Calfskin Leather Gold Hardware 76 Bleu Indigo

Indigo is denim’s formal cousin. This Bleu Indigo Kelly 25 is a deep, inky blue that sits a shade darker and cooler than navy, the colour of old workwear before it fades, and carried with gold hardware it manages the neat trick of looking both relaxed and seriously polished.

On Epsom the deep tone stays even and the stiffness keeps the silhouette exact, which suits a colour this saturated; a soft indigo bag would look like a sweater, while this one looks like a suit. The 25 by 17 by 7 cm body takes a phone, card holder, keys, sunglasses, a notebook and a compact, the full travel-then-meeting load, without any bulge.

Gold hardware against indigo is the warm note that stops the blue from going cold and corporate. I have carried mine from an airport in the morning to a client dinner at night without changing a thing, and it looked right in both rooms.

Honest note: indigo is a dark colour with a light problem, because under warm restaurant lighting it reads almost black. If you want a blue that stays obviously blue, choose something brighter. Treated as a neutral, though, indigo is the most useful dark bag I own: softer than black against browns and camel, sharper than navy against grey. Keep it away from rain, dry it flat if caught, and Epsom will hold the depth for years.