Hermes Gigi 50 Sandal Women High Heel Sandal Calfskin Silver Kelly Buckle Naturel H231063Z A3350

Natural calfskin is the colour of bare wood and raw silk, and on the Gigi 50 it does something unusual for a sandal: it looks unfinished in the most expensive way. There is no pigment to hide behind, so the leather reads as itself.

The shoe is calfskin with a palladium-plated Kelly buckle, a black leather sole and heel, and natural goatskin across the insole and lining. The heel measures two inches, which places it in the rare category of heels you can keep on through a long lunch and the walk home.

I wear mine mostly in daylight, with white cotton, oatmeal linen and stone-washed denim; the pale tones all build on each other instead of competing. Sizes 36 to 41 cover most feet. On bare skin the goatskin lining stays cool, which matters more than it sounds in July.

The honest trade-off with natural calfskin is that it takes on the world. Grass stains, indigo from denim, a splash of anything, all of it lands and some of it stays. On the bright side, the tan it develops is the point; a cream polish every few weeks keeps it from looking tired.

By its second summer my pair had deepened into a warm honey tone at the straps and looked more like mine than anyone else’s. Finished in Italy. If you want a sandal to improve with handling, stop looking.