Hermes Lindy 26 CM Bag Handmade In Taurillon Clemence Leather Sliver Hardware 61 Olive Green

Olive is the vegetable-dye color of the bag world — it has one foot in the garden and one in the city, and it refuses to choose. This Lindy 26 wears that olive in pebbled Clemence with silver hardware, which keeps the overall effect dry and slightly utilitarian. I have carried it to garden centres, design studios and a wedding in the countryside, and it fit all three.

The chassis is standard: 26 centimetres across, 18 centimetres tall, 12 deep, with twin handles that fold against the body and a strap that rides well over a coat. The leather softens quickly; by month two the bag had already settled into a relaxed, personal shape.

A typical Saturday hold: phone, a canvas card case, keys, sunglasses, a water bottle, a bag of coffee beans on top. Because olive is forgiving, I use it freely and clean it rarely — a brush every few weeks, a dry cloth for dust, and that is the entire maintenance story.

Things I would want to know: olive can read military to some eyes, especially next to khaki, so I avoid pairing it with camo prints and cargo trousers, or the bag becomes a uniform piece. And in autumn, fallen leaves disguise themselves well against it; more than once I have extracted one from the side pocket in December. Small complaints. Mostly this is the quietest green I own, and the one I recommend to people who claim they hate green.