Hermes Constance Elan 24 Bag Handmade In Epsom Calfskin Leather Gold Hardware 0S Vert Fizz

A pale mint soda, slightly watered down — that is the best description I can give Vert Fizz. I first carried it to a terrace cafe in early spring, with a grey knit and white jeans, and the bag did the job colour usually does at that time of year: it announced the season before the weather did.

Shape-wise this is still a working bag, not a trinket. The front of the Elan measures 24 by 14 cm and the body is eight deep, so my daily arrangement — phone, cardholder, keys, lip balm and a small notebook — fits with centimetres to spare. The depth also means a sunglass case can lie flat without straining the flap. A water bottle, meanwhile, is out of the question, happily.

Gold hardware and a green this fresh make an easy pair; the metal reads like the brass of a garden tap against new leaves. In Epsom the colour stays powdery and even, because the pressed grain keeps the surface flat and doesn’t darken in the creases the way smoother skins can after months of bending.

Honesty time: Vert Fizz is not a colour that blends. It works brilliantly with white, navy, grey and denim, and less predictably with strong reds or earthy browns. If you want a bag that whispers, look at the neutrals in this batch; if you want one that starts conversations, this is the one.