Hermes Izmir Sandal Men Matte Mississippiensis Alligator Himalaya Etoupe

Himalaya is the palest story this model tells: alligator with almost no colour left in it, warmed by an etoupe note so the result does not go cold. On the foot it looks less like a colour and more like an excellent neutral that has drifted slightly towards cream. I added this pair after two darker alligators and it does something they cannot: it makes everything around it look lighter.

The finish is matte, so the scales sit flat and the pale tone stays soft in all but the sharpest sunlight. The vamp is pierced with the H, the edges are cut in clean straight lines, and the sole measures roughly fourteen millimetres, keeping the whole thing low and uncomplicated.

The model comes in sizes 40 to 46, and I would take the half size up the maker advises. The cut-out needs a little length to sit correctly across the foot, and with it my toes clear the front edge on every step instead of pressing against it.

Honest caveat: a Himalaya tone this light is the least forgiving of the range where oil and moisture are concerned. Handling them after applying sunscreen is the mistake I made once, and the mark it left was a lesson I would not repeat on a pale hide.

Worn with washed linen, stone chinos or an undone white shirt, they read as restraint rather than effort. That, for me, is the whole case for keeping a pale sandal in a rotation that already has darker ones.