Hermes Evelyne 23 CM Bag Handmade In Taurillon Clemence Leather Gold Hardware 37 Gold

I expected to use this Evelyne 23 as a weekend bag and ended up carrying it into the office. Colour 37, Gold, is the warmest tan in my cupboard, a honeyed camel that makes a wool coat look considered, and the 23 by 23 by 7.5 cm body sits flat on the hip instead of swinging around it.

Taurillon Clemence is the reason. The grain is soft and slightly matte, with a pebbled surface that swallows small scratches and relaxes the more you carry the bag. The square silhouette drapes against the body within a week; the gold hardware holds its shine against all that softness, and the cut-out H on the front stays the only other mark on the leather.

On a normal day mine holds a phone, a compact wallet, keys, sunglasses in a sleeve and a paperback for the train. At dinner it carries the same list minus the book and looks entirely at home over the back of a chair. The strap runs long enough to sit crossbody on a taller frame and short enough for shoulder wear over a light jacket.

One honest note: Clemence has no stiffness in it at all, so if you load the bag heavily and hang it for weeks you will see the base soften and sag a little. I keep the load sensible and treat the give as part of the charm. A dry cloth is all the maintenance this leather has ever asked of me.

If you want one tan bag that works with denim, camel and black alike, this is the one I would point you to first.