Hermes Kelly Mini 2 19CM Bag Handmade In Epsom Calfskin Leather Silver Hardware 7U Blue Navy

Navy is usually the second bag people buy, once the black one is behind them; this is the navy that deserves a first-bag slot. Colour 7U is a deep, saturated blue with no grey in it at all — it holds its own next to black rather than being mistaken for it — and over Epsom’s pressed grain it stays uniform and slightly formal, exactly as it should.

With silver hardware the arrangement is cool, precise and unfussy: no warm metal to argue with denim, no shine to compete with the leather’s matte finish. Epsom also keeps the bag rigid through rain and daily handling, which is what a bag carried under a coat five days a week actually needs.

Inside the 19 x 12 x 5.5 cm frame goes a phone, a cardholder, keys and a lipstick. Mine lives with charcoal suiting and white shirts, the office uniform it was clearly made for, and slips naturally into dinner afterwards.

Honest observation: navy’s one weakness is low light. In dim restaurants and dark car interiors this bag is effectively invisible — it becomes a black bag that nobody looks at. That makes it discreet and, on a bad day, slightly thankless. Its moment is daylight and well-lit rooms, where the blue finally answers the question of why you did not just buy black again.

For nine-to-nine wear, it is hard to beat.