Hermes Script Belt Buckle & Reversible Leather Strap 38 mm Box 135 and Togo Calfskin Permabrass Buckle Yellow Gold Noir Gold

The Script buckle is lettering rather than an emblem, a flowing line of print across the plate, and it reads best in a quieter colourway. In noir and gold-tan, with a brushed permabrass finish, it stays a legible signature at the waist instead of a loud one.

Two leathers share the 38 mm strap: glossy Box 135 calfskin on one face, pebbled Togo on the other, so the choice between them is about surface as much as about colour. The gold-tan Box side carries the shine and looks the dressier of the two; the Togo side is matte, springier and the one I would take on a long trip. Brushed permabrass warms the lettering without polishing it to a mirror. In bright light the lettering reads clearly; in shade it settles into the plate.

Because the strap is an inch and a half wide, it works with denim, corduroy and unstructured jackets, and it gives a plain shirt-and-trousers outfit some intent. Flipping is done by rotating the buckle, and the strap edge shows the colour you are not wearing, a small tell that the belt is reversible.

Two considerations. Box 135 is glossy and will show light scuffs over time, which is the price of that surface. The engraved lettering on the buckle also collects dust in its grooves, so a soft brush every few weeks keeps it looking sharp rather than greyed.

Waist sizes run 80 to 115 cm, measured where the belt sits rather than at the widest point.