Hermes Oasis Sandal Women High Heel Sandal in Epsom Heritage Calfskin Pelino Beige

Beige sandals do not win compliments; they do something more useful, which is make every other thing you wear look better. Pelino is a warm, slightly rosy beige, closer to sand than to stone, and it flatters bare legs more convincingly than a cold neutral can. It flatters more skin tones than its understated look suggests.

The Oasis shape carries it — Epsom Heritage calfskin with the H cut-out, five centimetres of heel, 4.5 centimetres of pitch to the front, sizes 36 through 41, Italian-made. The Oasis vamp covers a good part of the foot, so a pale colour never advertises a tan line. In daylight it looks like dry sand; indoors it warms toward caramel.

This is the pair I lend to friends who insist they cannot wear heels. The block is stable, the vamp holds the foot, and the colour means they can put it with jeans on the first day and a dress on the third. It has never been returned with a complaint. They go to work under tailored trousers and to dinner with a silk dress.

The caveat is maintenance: beige shows dark scuffs readily at the heel and the toe. Ten seconds with a cream after each wear is the price; skip it for a month and the difference is visible. Choose this colour only if you will actually do that. Keep a small brush for the welt and the cream near the door; that is the whole routine.