Hermes Bouncing Sneaker Men Calfskin Suede Goatskin Marine H231763ZHI2395

Navy sneakers solve a problem black ones ignore: they look intentional next to denim instead of clashing with it. This pair reads dark until it reads blue, the suede goatskin taking a marginally deeper tone than the calfskin panels, so the upper has the ocean’s trick of changing colour as you move.

Black and blue rubber inserts alternate along the sole, which lifts about one and a half inches, and navy blue lamb’s skin runs through the insole and lining, darker than the exterior, so the inside reads almost uniform. A recycled black fabric ribbon sits at the heel. One pair of white and one pair of tone-on-tone laces ships in the box, and the white pair is how I wear them with shorts.

Made in Italy, men’s sizes 40 to 46, and the fit runs true across the range. Under grey wool or worn indigo, the pair does the one thing I ask of blue shoes: it never once looks wrong. Navy is also the one colour that sits comfortably next to black at night, which not every shoe can claim.

Two honest notes. Suede goat absorbs a scuff as a dark patch rather than a scratch, so the toe can look bruised after a careless week; brushing improves it but not entirely. And navy shows salt marks from winter streets plainly. This is a three-season shoe in most climates, and mine hibernates through the saltiest weeks.