Hermes Kelly Pochette Handmade In Swift Calfskin Leather Gold Hardware 93 Orange

I bought orange against my own advice and wore it to a birthday lunch where three separate people asked to hold it. That is the effect it has. It is the warm, sun-lit orange of the house rather than traffic-cone neon, and it does the styling for you.

The Kelly Pochette carries the colour in Swift calfskin, whose smooth surface takes dye deeply enough to keep the orange even across 22 cm of width, 12 of height and 7 of depth. Gold fittings sit against it as if they were made for it, which, given the history of this shade in these shapes, they effectively were. Inside goes a phone, keys, cards, one lipstick and a fold of notes.

Practical notes from a year of use: orange shows dust, so a soft brush once a week keeps it looking new, and the smooth finish will micro-scratch where a zip pull or a ring rubs against it. Neither is a reason to avoid it. What orange does beautifully is survive grey weather. On a rainy Tuesday it is genuinely cheerful, and it photographs better than any neutral I own.

I wear it with navy, denim and camel, and with black it looks deliberate rather than accidental. If you have ever wanted one bag that announces itself without a logo the size of a saucer, this is the one I would hand you.