Hermes Kelly 2424 24/24 Bag 21CM Handmade In Evercolor and Swift Calfskin Leather Silver Hardware 85 Ardoise

Ardoise is French for slate, and the colour does exactly what slate does: dark grey with a cool cast in daylight, closer to black in a dim room. I have carried it for months and I still catch the shift. I wore it to a winter dinner and two people asked whether it was black; in the car park, in daylight, it was unmistakably grey.

The body measures twenty-one centimetres at its widest, pressed Evercolor for the panels and Swift for the folds, with silver hardware that cools the grey rather than dressing it up. Tucked under an arm it looks smaller than its listed size; set on a table it looks properly made. The strap tucks away neatly when I want to carry it by hand, though it is short enough that hand-carry is a brief affair.

It holds a phone, a card case, keys and a small folding comb, which is all I take on a normal day, and the flap still lands flat with the turnlock on its first setting.

The only trade-off is contrast. Silver hardware on a near-black grey almost disappears, so if you like your fittings to announce themselves, look at the gold versions of this bag instead. I have decided I prefer the discretion; the confidence here comes from the leather, not the fittings, and the leather has plenty to say.

For me that restraint is the reason it works with a beige coat, a leather jacket and everything in between.