Hermes Lindy 30 CM Bag Handmade In Taurillon Clemence Leather Sliver Hardware 8Q Beige Marfa

Beige is the colour people love in photographs and fear in real life. Beige Marfa – a soft sand with a hint of pink – is the friendliest beige I have owned: light, but not white, so a mark hides in the warm tone rather than jumping out.

The leather is Clemence, whose pebbled grain does a lot of the forgiving here; its matte surface and thick hand mean the bag keeps a relaxed, slouchy line rather than a board-stiff one. Silver hardware keeps the sand tone from going creamy or yellowish.

The Lindy 30 measures thirty by nineteen by sixteen centimetres and has the familiar two rolled handles plus a strap. Mine regularly carries a thin cardigan, a long wallet, a pouch of make-up, keys, phone and a slim water bottle, with the exterior pockets doing duty for the phone and a folded scarf on windy days.

Honest caveats: light Clemence will not resist indigo transfer from raw denim forever, and the bottom corners are the first place a beige bag shows wear. I clean mine every couple of months with a leather wipe and it has stayed presentable through two summers.

If you have been circling a beige bag and hesitating, this one is forgiving enough to justify the leap. One quiet advantage of the tone: it shows lint less than black and fingerprints less than white, so between cleanings it always looks presentable.