Hermes Kelly Depeches 25 Pouch Handmade In Togo Calfskin Leather Silver Hardware 18 Etoupe

Etoupe is the neutral I recommend to anyone building a first folio, because it behaves like grey in a suit pocket and like brown against denim. In daylight the taupe reads warm; under office fluorescents it leans slightly green, and I find that shift interesting rather than a fault.

Footprint-wise it is A5: twenty-five centimetres wide, nineteen and a half tall, four centimetres deep. That houses a passport, a compact wallet, a phone and the folded invitation or two that always end up in my bag. Anything bulkier than a slim notebook starts to push at the flap.

The leather is Togo, so the surface is pebbled and slightly matte, with a grain that hides the small marks a folio collects on trains and in taxis. Where Togo gives, though, is structure: expect a soft curve along the flap after months of use, not the knife-edge line you get from a stiffer, embossed calf.

Silver hardware keeps it neutral enough for the office, and it photographs warmer than it looks in person, a small thing worth knowing if you are choosing from a screen.

What I like most is how Etoupe refuses to be classified. On a grey coat it reads brown; beside a tan belt it reads grey; against denim it stands just off the blue, so one folio covers the ground of two. If your wardrobe is mostly navy, olive and cream, this is the leather that keeps up with all three without asking to be matched.