Hermes Oran Sandal Women Suede Goatskin Vintage Rose Color

Suede in summer sounds like a contradiction, and yet it is the version of the Oran that feels most like skin. Vintage rose is the reason: a muted, dusty pink with more grey than sugar in it, closer to faded fabric than to anything sweet. Goatskin suede has a fine, dense nap, so the colour reads deep rather than powdery. In low light it looks almost brown; in full sun the pink comes up warm.

Straight-cut edges give this pair a slightly sharper outline than the standard model, and the H cut-out is drawn with the same clean line. Under the foot the sole is natural leather with a leather edge, the insole and lining are lambskin, and the heel sits at roughly a centimetre with half a centimetre of drop to the front. Cut and finished in Italy, in sizes 36 to 41.

I wear mine with white and grey more than with pink, because the suede looks best when it has something plain to sit against. A long grey linen dress, a white shirt with straight trousers, washed denim: all of it works. They are also the pair I choose for photographs, since suede absorbs light instead of throwing it back.

The trade-off with any suede is water. A rain shower will leave spots that need a proper brush rather than a cloth, and grease marks are worse than water. I keep a suede brush and a protector spray in the hall, choose dry days, and store them filled so the nap does not flatten at the toe.