Hermes Birdy Charm Vert Criquet – Rose Bubble Gum – Naturel – Menthe – Bleu De France – Framboise H083884CKAB

A bag charm is the least necessary thing in a wardrobe and somehow the most personal. The Birdy is a small bird built from five different skins — Epsom calfskin, ostrich, Mysore goatskin, Milo lambskin and Swift calfskin — which is why its plumage flickers between cricket green, pink and naturel depending on how it catches the light.

It is the ostrich I keep looking at. Ostrich leather carries those characteristic quill follicles, tiny domes across the surface, and in the colours chosen here they read as feathers rendered in three dimensions. Around them the smoother Epsom and supple Milo pieces make up the wings and body — a patchwork animal, 12 centimetres long and 10.5 tall, small enough to ride on a bag strap without ever snagging your arm.

I hung mine on the handle of a black tote with palladium hardware to match, and it did what charms do at their best: gave a serious bag a sense of humour in one gesture. It also comes off in a second when you want the bag plain again — the palladium-plated ring is sized for standard leather handles and strap anchors.

The honest note: soft leathers in light colours are a commitment. This charm will show denim transfer and street dust the way a white sneaker does, and the lamb and ostrich parts prefer a wipe with a dry cloth over any product. Keep it out of the rain, and consider it more of an indoor pet — one that will make you smile every time you pick up your bag.