Hermes Lindy 30 CM Bag Handmade In Taurillon Clemence Leather Silver Hardware 3S Macassar

Macassar is the colour of very dark timber – a brown so deep it passes for black until strong sunlight finds the red in it. On my Lindy 30 it has become the bag I take to work when a city bag feels too formal and a tote too plain.

The leather is Clemence: pebbled, thick, matte and unbothered. Thirty centimetres across, nineteen high, sixteen deep, two rolled handles, one strap, two pocket flaps and clasps. In this colour the seams and folds of the Lindy silhouette become almost tonal, so the bag reads as one soft shape rather than a set of parts.

What I carry daily: a 13-inch tablet, a leather folder, a cable pouch, a water bottle, sunglasses and keys. The open interior means I organise with two soft inserts, but the depth keeps even a big load from bulging outward.

Honest note: near-black browns show dust and light scratches more than a true black does, and silver hardware on Macassar is a cool pairing that some people find severe. I think it is the reason the bag works with both navy and grey tailoring.

Six months in, it has aged into something closer to a well-kept desk than a handbag – which is a compliment. It also holds its structure just enough that a client meeting never feels like a compromise, which matters when one bag has to be every bag.