Hermes Master Sneaker Noir H261009Z 02340

Black calfskin sneakers usually fall into two camps: the sporty ones that look borrowed from a gym, and the dressy ones that look like a mistake. The Master avoids both by keeping everything low and flat – a slim sole, a plain toe, nothing shouting for attention.

The leather is genuinely supple, so the shoe adapts to the foot within a few wears instead of holding its box shape forever. Sizes cover 36 to 41, the sole is that same paper-thin retro slab, and a spare set of laces comes tucked in the box.

I have worn these to work on weeks when I was standing through presentations, then straight to dinner without changing. On carpet and office floors the thin sole is a pleasure; on long stretches of hard pavement you feel everything, so I keep a cushioned insole in reserve.

Up close, the tonal stitching and matte black finish make the shoe look considerably more expensive than its minimal shape suggests. The all-black palette means it disappears under a wide trouser hem, which is what I want from a shoe that is meant to support an outfit rather than star in it. Under a wide hem the shoe registers as a dark line and nothing more.

The honest note: black calfskin gathers dust at the toe and shows pale scuffs around the heel where you kick them off. Both brush out easily with a soft cloth and a little cream, but if you want a shoe you never think about, this is not that shoe.