Hermes Kelly Pochette Handmade In Swift Calfskin Leather Silver Hardware P9 Anemone

What do you wear purple with? The answer, after a decade of owning it, is almost anything, provided the purple is good. Anemone is that kind of purple: vivid, pink-leaning and deep, closer to a clematis flower than to a crayon, and it lifts a dark outfit the way a piece of jewellery normally would.

The Kelly Pochette form gives it a 22 cm body, a 12 cm back and a 7 cm gusset, in Swift calfskin with silver hardware. The interior holds phone, keys, cards and lipstick, with a slim extra centimetre or two for a folded scarf when the evening cools. Swift’s soft hand means the bag leans against the body rather than standing off it.

Two caveats from experience. Smooth calfskin shows oily fingerprints at the flap edge, and a quick wipe with a dry cloth keeps them from setting. And this is a colour that photographs bluer indoors and pinker in sunlight, so expect friends to describe it differently from the way you see it. Neither has ever bothered me, and the leather itself has stayed even, with no fading on the gussets, which is the part of a bright bag that usually goes first. The flap hinge is the other place to watch, and mine has stayed straight.

Wear it with black, olive, grey or denim. I have yet to find a pairing where it looked like a mistake.