Hermes Monica 60 Sandal Women High Heel Sandal in Swift Goatskin Noir H261094Z 02355

Black from the upper to the sole to the lining, the Monica 60 gives a six-centimetre heel the kind of visual weightlessness that only monochrome can. The eye reads a single long line from toe to heel drop, and height is simply what that line does.

Swift goatskin is the working material here, fine and close-grained, with a black leather sole, edge and heel underneath. Lambskin lines the insole and upper. The heels name their own height, sixty millimetres, which is serious enough to matter and modest enough to forgive.

My pair comes out for evening work: openings, dinners, any night that begins at seven and ends on a walk home. Sizes run 36 to 41. With black trousers the shoe vanishes; with bare legs and a slip dress it sharpens everything. It has also stood through long receptions where I was on my feet for hours, which is the real test of any heel.

Honest word of warning: a black smooth upper shows dust instantly and creases visibly across the toe box after a few months, so cream and a cloth belong in your routine. The leather sole, meanwhile, dislikes wet stone, and a six-centimetre heel is not the place to discover that.

Kept dry and polished, the goatskin keeps its subtle sheen and the sole darkens to an even black-brown with the miles. Made in Italy. A heel you can forget you are wearing, which is the highest compliment I can give one.