Hermes Jige Elan 29 Clutch Handmade In Swift Calfskin Leather 93 Orange

Orange is the color of the house, and in Swift it is unmissable. The dye sits deep and even, with no darkening at the grain, so the color stays saturated from edge to edge and looks as though it was painted on rather than absorbed.

At 29 cm the Jige Elan is the size of an average hardback, and flat as one. It holds a phone, cards, keys and a lipstick without effort. The flap closes by folding through its own H, so there is no hardware anywhere on the piece, which is exactly why it stays as light as it is and never scratches a dress.

Swift is soft, so the clutch has some give in the hand instead of the board-like crispness of an embossed calf. I like that; it feels more like a fabric accessory than a rigid case. The catch is care: Swift marks and water-spots more easily, and bright orange makes nothing disappear. A wipe with a soft cloth and a dry night in the dust bag keep it looking new.

Wear it with grey, navy, cream or denim and let the color do the rest.

Colour this strong has one practical advantage: I never lose it. In a taxi, on a chair, under a coat on a hook, the orange announces itself, and I have stopped that particular low-level anxiety. The dye has also not transferred onto anything pale in a year of use, which was my main worry before the first outing.