Hermes Traverse Belt Buckle & Reversible Leather Strap 38 mm Box 135 and Togo Calfskin Palladium Buckle Silver Noir Bleu De Prusse

Two faces, one Prussian blue and one black, with a cool palladium buckle: this is the belt I take when I have no idea what the week will hold. It pairs with grey trousers and denim as easily as with a dark suit, which is more than the average reversible strap manages.

Box 135 supplies the shine here, a smooth and glossy calfskin with a near-mirror finish that takes on a soft patina with age. Togo supplies the texture, pebbled and matte, springy rather than stiff, and far more forgiving of daily knocks. Both are 38 mm wide, so the strap fills the loops of jeans and chinos properly and gives a heavy outfit some backbone.

Wearing it, I like the glossy face with wool and the grained face with denim, and the blue works as a near-black with nearly everything, showing its colour only in good light. Palladium keeps the hardware neutral, closer to silver than gold, and stays bright without looking perpetually new. The cool tone stays even rather than fading to a different shade, which is part of why it travels so well.

Two trade-offs to accept: Box 135 scratches more easily than the pebbled side, which is exactly why the grained reverse is the one I wear most, and a strap this wide can be awkward in narrow suit loops. Sizes run from 80 to 115 cm, the full adult range in five-centimetre steps, so measure at the waist with a tape and choose with confidence.