Hermes Oz Mule Women Calfskin Sliver Kelly Buckle Noir H212295Z 01340

Palladium on black goatskin gives the Oz its most contemporary face: a cool, slightly grey metal against a black that has real depth of grain, and a shoe that reads as designed rather than merely dark.

The construction is unadorned, as mules should be. Goatskin upper, a plated Kelly buckle, black leather sole, edge and heel, and a black goatskin insole and lining. Flat underfoot, open at the heel, and quiet on hard floors because everything that touches the ground is leather.

I keep mine at the office. They suit tailored trousers on weekdays and a shirt dress on the kinds of Fridays that end early, and because there is no heel to negotiate, the mule never feels borrowed from an evening wardrobe. The size run goes from 36 to 41.

The honest trade-offs are the usual mule ones plus one of its own: black smooth leather shows indoor dust quickly, so a wipe at the end of the day keeps the surface even, and the exposed heel edge will scuff against steps and chairs. Touch-ups with black polish cover it all, but they do have to be done. My pair carries one small scuff on the left heel edge from a train door; polish has almost erased it.

Mine have kept their cool tone and gained a soft gloss at the strap after months of adding and removing. Made in Italy. Least fuss, most wear per week of anything on my shelf.