Hermes Kelly Pochette Handmade In Swift Calfskin Leather Gold Hardware 18 Etoupe

Etoupe is the shade I pack when I do not want to think about what I am wearing. It is a grey-brown with a hint of olive, the colour of wet stone and good tweed, which means it agrees with nearly everything and competes with nothing.

On this Kelly Pochette the palette sits on Swift calfskin with gold hardware, and the combination is warmer than the colour chart suggests. Twenty-two centimetres wide, twelve high, seven deep: a phone, a cardholder, keys and a lipstick fit without the piece bulging, and the short top handle sits easily in the crook of a finger. I took mine on a four-day trip and it doubled as an evening bag and a wallet inside a weekender.

Swift’s flexibility is a real advantage in a small bag. You can push the gussets flat when you want it slim, and the leather springs back without creasing badly. What it will not do is resist contact: press a pen against it and you will see the line. I keep nothing harder than a card case inside and nothing rough against it in the car, and after two years the surface still looks even.

Where Etoupe wins is versatility of temperature as well as colour. It looks correct with a wool coat in January and a cotton dress in July, which is more than most neutrals manage. If you want one small bag that behaves in every season, start here.