Hermes Birkin 35 Bag Handmade In Togo Calfskin Leather Gold Hardware T7 Blue Hydra

Most blues in this family are straightforward; Blue Hydra is not. It carries a green thread through it, the way deep water does, so in some light the bag reads teal and in others a jewel-toned blue. With gold hardware the green warms up further, and the overall effect is aquatic and rich at once, closer to the Mediterranean than to the boardroom.

Togo handles unusual colours well because the pebble grain gives the surface somewhere to hide. Scuffs, fingerprints and the small abrasions of daily life scatter into the texture, so a colour this distinctive stays wearable rather than becoming a display piece. The 35 frame, meanwhile, keeps the bag from reading as a novelty, because a bigger canvas makes strong shades look considered.

What I fit in this size on a normal day: a wallet, a glasses case, phone, keys, a slim notebook, a pouch of cables and a compact, with room left over for a light jumper when the evening turns cool. The back-wall pockets keep transit cards and receipts where I can find them without unpacking everything.

The trade-off is matching. Blue-green is the hardest hue to coordinate with, and it can clash with true greens and with some purples if you place them side by side. Worn against neutrals and denim, though, it is the most interesting blue I have carried, and I say that having tried quite a few.