Hermes Constance Elan 24 Bag Handmade In Epsom Calfskin Leather Silver Hardware 55 Rouge H

There is a red that works after dark, and on the Constance Elan 24 it is Rouge H. Deep, with brown and a touch of black in its mix, it manages to be festive and serious at once, which is precisely what a long low flap bag with silver hardware wants to be. It is also, quietly, the easiest red to wear with black.

The Elan’s proportions carry the shade well: twenty-four centimetres across the front, fourteen tall, eight deep. So much of the face is leather that a colour like this has room to be itself, and the embossed cross-grain of Epsom, firm and dry to the touch, gives the red a texture that photographs as depth rather than shine. In daylight it is a wine; under lamps it is Christmas without the tinsel.

For an evening it holds a phone, cardholder, keys, a compact and a lipstick; for a wedding it holds the same list with a folded programme added. The strap sits across the body neatly, and the clasp at the centre gives the whole piece an air of having been invited rather than simply brought. It has never once needed a second opinion from me.

The honest trade-off of any red this deep: in daylight it is dignified, in candlelight it is magnificent, and on a rainy Tuesday it can be too much ceremony for a supermarket. I keep it for occasions by instinct now. It has never been over-dressed; I cannot say that of every bag I own.