Hermes Paris Loafer Women Calfskin Natura Lizard Sliver Buckle Noir Ombre H232189Z 02355

A loafer with an ombré lizard vamp is a strange pleasure: formal from across a room, wild close up, and entirely black in both readings. The scales shift from charcoal to near-black down the toe box, and the calfskin around them holds everything flat and sober.

The Paris silhouette sits on a low heel of just under two centimetres with a front-to-back drop of a centimetre and a half, on a black leather and rubber sole with a black leather heel. A palladium buckle crosses the vamp, and black goatskin lines the interior.

I wear mine to the kinds of dinners where a sandal would be too little and a boot too much: loafers hit a register nothing else does. Sizes run 36 to 41. With cropped trousers and no socks they look lean; with dark socks in spring they look grown-up.

The honest part concerns the lizard. Scales crease where the loafer flexes and can lift at the crease if the fit is wrong at the instep. Wear them snug but not tight, keep them away from rain, and buff the scales with a dry cloth so they keep their glass. The reward is a vamp that looks closer to varnish than leather.

Two seasons in, the gradient at the toe has softened slightly, the calfskin has creased like a well-loved brogue, and the palladium stays quietly grey. Made in Italy. A loafer for someone who wants their dark shoes to have teeth.