Hermes Constance 24 CM Bag Handmade In Bright Faced American Alligator Leather Silver Hardware 81 Girs Tourerlle

The first time I carried this bag to a dinner it sat on the table like a piece of tableware – guests reached for the grain before they reached for their glasses. Gris Tourterelle is the colour of a dove’s wing: a grey that turns faintly blue at the edges and never reads cold, and it suits alligator better than almost any shade I have seen on it.

Bright-faced alligator is the dressed form of the skin: the square scales are polished to a mirror shine, so light moves across the flap in bands as you turn. Each tile is raised and individual, which means the surface is a pattern first and a colour second. Silver-tone hardware is the restrained choice – gold on this grey can tip it into costume, while silver lets the scales speak.

It is still a 24 cm bag under all that, so the practical case is easy: in goes a card case, phone, a flat key ring, lipstick and a foldable silk scarf; a full wallet makes it bulge. The fixed strap lets it hang close for a dressy shoulder carry, and the profile stays thin at five centimetres, which is what keeps it looking formal.

Two quirks of the finish, though. A mirror shine shows everything – fingerprints, lotion, even the imprint of a thumb – so I keep a soft cloth in my desk and wipe it before an evening out. And exotics and rain do not mix; alligator dislikes water more than calfskin does, so I check the forecast before committing to it. Looked after, nothing else in my closet photographs like this bag.