Hermes Oasis Sandal Women High Heel Sandal in Swift Calfskin Gold H071002Z 03340

Gold on soft leather behaves differently from gold on stiff leather: swift calfskin moves with the foot, so the metallic surface shifts and catches light as you walk instead of reflecting it flatly. It is the more discreet way to wear a gold sandal. It reads warmer than silver and less formal than jewellery gold, which makes it easy to live with.

The silhouette is the Oasis one — the cut-out H on the vamp, an ankle strap, a heel a hair under two inches — with the size run from 36 through 41, made in Italy, reference H071002Z 03340. Against a tan it looks almost bronze.

I wear mine with black at night and with white in the day, and they are the pair I take when a holiday needs one shoe to cover a beach lunch and a restaurant after dark. The colour warms a tan and does not look seasonal. Against black trousers and a white shirt the gold does all the work. It is comfortable with navy, too, which many metallics are not.

The trade-off: soft gold leather creases at the vamp and the shine softens where it bends. It still looks good, just less new. If you want the finish to stay untouched, this is not the material for you. I wore mine to a long lunch that turned into a dinner and never changed shoes. One cream, one cloth, no polish, and the surface stays even.