Hermes Kelly Mini 2 19CM Bag Handmade In Bright Faced Alligator Leather from Mississippi Gold Hardware J5 Rose Scheherazade

Rose Scheherazade is a lot of name for a bag that hides under one hand, but it earns it in the flesh. The colour is closer to a deep raspberry than a confectionary pink, and over bright-faced alligator it looks like lacquer poured over scales — closer to enamel jewellery than to leather. The first time I carried it, I kept opening the flap for no reason at all.

Gold hardware was the right pairing. Against a warmer pink, gold keeps the composition in the same key; silver would have iced it into something colder and more graphic. The effect is grown-up, and I say that as someone who avoided pink bags for years on principle. It is the one bag in my cupboard that starts conversations.

At 19 x 12 x 5.5 cm the Kelly Mini carries a phone, a cardholder, keys and a lipstick and refuses politely to carry more. I take mine to dinners, to weddings and to the sort of gallery opening where everyone is slightly underdressed on purpose.

Honest points: this pink photographs brighter than it wears. In low light it falls towards burgundy, which is when I like it most — so do not buy it expecting bubblegum. It also disagrees with red outfits, and with glossy alligator you should keep a cloth nearby for fingerprints.

Carried with a grey or charcoal outfit, it is the single detail that finishes the look.