Hermes Evelyne 16 CM Bag Handmade In Epsom Calfskin Leather Gold Hardware U4 Vert Vertigo

Vert Vertigo is a vivid, almost grass green that I bought specifically for grey days, and it has done exactly what I hoped: on a wet Tuesday it reads as a small window of weatherlessness. On Epsom, the colour comes out even more saturated than in softer leathers, because there is no grain shadow to dilute it.

The small Evelyne contains it neatly. A sixteen-centimetre body, eighteen wide and five deep, is just enough canvas for a colour this confident; any larger and it would be a commitment rather than a pleasure. Gold hardware is a warm pairing with the cool green, and the firm leather means the bag sits square and does not fold in on itself when I set it down at lunch.

What I put in it: phone, keys, a thin card wallet, lipstick, the uniform small-bag kit. On market days I add a cotton tote folded into the base, because I refuse to shop with a bag this small. The strap alternates between crossbody and shoulder length depending on the coat, and the leather shrugs off rain better than anything else I own, which matters in a city that keeps forgetting to stop.

One honest note: this green is genuinely bold, and a bag this small only works as an accent if you like accents. If your wardrobe is already loud, it will fight; if it is grey and navy, it will win. Two years in, mine still looks new.

The colour of a good mood, in a bag you can carry daily.