Hermes Mona Sandal Women Swift Calfskin Bleu Glacier H261092Z 18360

Glacier blue is paler than the name suggests, closer to rinsed denim or morning water than to ice, and in Swift calfskin it has a fine, almost paper-smooth grain that makes the colour look painted on. This is the lightest-looking sandal in my summer drawer.

Where a Chypre sits on rubber, the Mona rests on a natural leather sole with a dark natural edge and heel, and that difference changes the shoe completely: it is quieter underfoot, more formal from the side, and it picks up a warm patina along the base as the leather scuffs and burnishes.

The upper and the lambskin insole and lining are dyed to the same blue, so the shoe is tonal inside and out. I wear mine with white linen and with pale grey; against a tan it behaves like a piece of sea glass. They come in sizes 36 through 41.

The honest part is weather. A leather sole on a sandal means dry days only if you care about the sole at all, and Swift calfskin marks easily at the straps. Ink, oil and wet grass are all permanent; the trade is that no synthetic sole looks this refined on a quiet outfit.

Worn through one summer, the blue has warmed fractionally and the sole has darkened to a soft honey at the edges, which is the whole argument for natural materials. Made in Italy. Elegant is not a word I use often, but the Mona earns it.