Hermes Chypre Sandal Men Techno-sandal Matte Mississippiensis Alligator Vanilla Color

Vanilla makes me think of hotel floors: pale tiles, warm stone, light coming in at eight in the morning. This pair captures that feeling, and they are the first light-coloured sandals I have owned that do not look like something issued by a clinic. They live by the door in summer because they go with everything pale in my wardrobe.

Matte Mississippiensis alligator gives the surface a soft, dry hand, and the sole below is the familiar techno unit, moulded rubber contoured to an anatomical shape with black calfskin on top. Sporty in construction, anything but sporty in colour. The dark underfoot is a small contradiction I have come to like: pale on top, grounded below.

Sizes 40 through 46, with the strap across the instep adjustable by several notches. My advice is to try them barefoot, as you will wear them on holiday, because the calfskin insole warms up fast and the fit settles within an hour of walking. Rubber takes a few outings to mould itself fully to your own footprint.

The trade-off is the obvious one for a cream hide: it shows everything, from olive oil at lunch to the dust of a dry pavement. I wipe the scales after each wear and keep sunscreen off my hands when I handle them.

Under a navy polo or a tan linen shirt the vanilla tone lifts an outfit without shouting, which is why this pair lives by the door from May onwards. The colour also ages gently, deepening a little at the strap where the leather bends.