Hermes Lindy 26 CM Bag Handmade In Taurillon Clemence Leather Silver Hardware 88 Graphite

Sauge is French for sage, and this colour lives up to the name: a soft, grey-green with a wash of silver in it, calm in the way herbs are calm. On Clemence’s matte grain it looks botanical without being loud, and the gold hardware gives it just enough warmth to keep it from going cold.

The bag is the Lindy 26 – twenty-six by eighteen by twelve centimetres of soft, folding leather, with the two rolled handles and the shoulder strap this shape is known for. It holds a wallet, phone, keys, a lipstick and sunglasses comfortably; add a paperback and it is full but still closes.

I like it most in transitional weather – it goes over a trench without fighting it and sits well with white cotton in summer. The exterior pockets each take a phone or keys, and the clasps have a satisfyingly solid click that has not loosened in months.

Two honest points. Sage tones can look washed out against pale clothes in flat winter light – a coat with some contrast fixes it, but it is worth knowing. And light-mid greens show the first corner rubs sooner than dark ones; Clemence blends them with a thumb, yet they exist.

A gentle, worn-in bag for people whose palette runs soft. Nothing about it is loud: no shiny surface, no busy print – it fits a garden lunch or a bookshop afternoon equally well.