Hermes Constance Elan 24 Bag Handmade In Epsom Calfskin Leather Silver Hardware 37 Gold

Gold, confusingly, is a colour here rather than a metal — a caramel-tan that Hermès has used for decades — and on this Elan it is paired with silver hardware, which changes everything about how the tone reads. The tan turns honeyed and calm; the clasp stays cool and clean. It is the more interesting of the two hardware choices.

Slung from the shoulder with a camel coat, the deep body works in your favour. Twenty-four centimetres across, fourteen high, and eight centimetres of gusset — the extra room swallows a paperback’s worth of small things: phone, wallet, keys, glasses cloth, a couple of receipts you mean to file. The longer flap keeps it all contained.

What I like about Gold in Epsom specifically is that the colour sits evenly across the embossed grain. Tan leathers in softer finishes can pool darker where the leather creases; Epsom barely creases at all, so the shade stays true from the flap down to the base. It is one of the few tans I would call low-maintenance.

An honest observation: caramel and camel are close cousins, and if your wardrobe is heavy with both, this bag can blend in more than you might want. Where it shines is against navy, forest green, denim and grey — anything that lets the warmth do the talking. A cream knit and this bag are a complete sentence together; denim works just as well.