Hermes Bearn Wallet With Gusset Handmade In Epsom Calfskin Leather Silver Hardware ck18 Etoupe

Etoupe in a wallet settles the taupe question for good: a grey-brown that reads warm next to grey tailoring and cool next to brown, with pale contrast stitching tracing the flap so the edge is drawn rather than blurred. Silver hardware is the cooler of the two metal choices here, and on etoupe I prefer it.

Five centimetres front to back is the number that matters. Deeper than a card case by a wide margin, this carries a proper day’s worth: notes flat, cards in the slots, coins and a spare key in the gusset, and it still lies flat on the table when opened at a till. Mine spends its weekdays in a desk drawer and its weekends in a small bag, and the gusset means it never has to be re-packed to close. It also means coins do not have to be tipped into a jar at the end of every week, which I have come to appreciate.

The honest notes: a taupe wallet will pick up dark dye from a leather jacket lined pocket, and the pale contrast stitching is the first thing to collect grime because it is the lightest element on the whole piece. A soft brush handles it.

What I like about etoupe is that it stops matching being a decision. It works with the black coat, the camel coat and the one you are not sure about.