Hermes Royal Loafer Women Goatskin Sliver Buckle Noir

Black fringe behaves differently from every other colour of fringe. Instead of swinging free, it half-vanishes into the upper, and the Royal loafer becomes a black shoe with a texture you notice only when it moves, which is a subtler effect than the photographs suggest.

All the working parts are here: goatskin upper, black leather and rubber sole and heel of six-tenths of an inch at the front and back, a warm gold permabrass buckle, and black goatskin lining the insole and the interior. Nothing on the shoe is not black except the buckle.

These are my winter-town loafers, worn with heavy wool trousers, dark socks and a long coat, and they have never once looked out of place. Sizes run 36 to 41. The rubber content of the sole makes wet city streets survivable, which matters in a black shoe more than it should.

Two honest warnings. Fringe in black gathers lint like nothing else in my wardrobe, so keep a soft brush by the door and use it. And goatskin creases at the vamp with wear, as it should; black hides the folds better than pale leather, but the surface will go from gloss to softness in a matter of months.

After two winters the fringe has settled and the leather has kept its depth with the help of regular cream at the stress points. Made in Italy. The quietest way to wear fringe, and the most useful.