Hermes Lindy 30 CM Bag Handmade In Swift Leather Silver Hardware 0F Blue Frida

Swift leather takes bright colour like a flower takes dye, which is why Blue Frida is one of the purest blues I have seen on a bag – not navy, not denim, but a clean, medium-sky blue with real presence. The leather itself is soft and lightly glossy, with a hand that folds the moment you touch it.

That softness suits the Lindy 30 perfectly. The bag’s two rolled handles and side-clipped strap were designed around slouch, and in Swift the silhouette takes on a fluid, almost scarf-like drape. Silver hardware keeps the blue crisp and a little icy, which I like against grey coats.

Inside: thirty by nineteen by sixteen centimetres of open space. A lunch box, a foldable umbrella, a paperback, a phone, a wallet and keys – the Swift version carries the same load as its grained siblings, just more softly. Exterior pockets hold the small things.

A note of caution: Swift is the most tender of the house leathers. It marks with a fingernail, dislikes rain more than Clemence, and will crease where the straps pull. The marks warm out with handling, but if you want a bag for rough days, choose a grained leather instead.

Carried as a colour piece with neutral clothes, though, it is the most alive-looking Lindy I have tried. I would not take it on a rainy city break, but on a bright day with a neutral knit nothing else in my cupboard turns a grey morning around as quickly.