Hermes Zipengo Chaine d’Ancre To Go Pouch Handmade In Evercolor Calfskin Leather Gold Hardware 18 Etoupe

The Zipengo is the pouch you buy for the days you cannot be bothered with a handbag. Twenty point five by twelve by four point two centimetres is exactly enough for a large phone, a card case, keys, a lipstick and a small power bank, and the chaine d’ancre link detail – the chain motif that names the line – gives an otherwise plain zip pouch something to look at.

Evercolor is the reason this works as well as it does. It is a fine-grained calfskin with a slightly matte finish and just enough firmness that the pouch keeps its shape when it is nearly empty, instead of collapsing into a flat envelope like softer pouches do. It also wears beautifully: I have slid mine in and out of a bigger bag for months and there is not a mark on the corners.

Carried by hand or tucked into a tote, the etoupe grey-taupe suits the gold hardware rather than clashing with it, and the pale tone keeps the small size feeling light. In a big black bag it is immediately findable, which sounds trivial until you have spent a minute rooting for a black pouch in a black lining.

The honest trade-off: a pouch this size has to be edited. Twelve cards, keys and a phone means the phone sits against the cards, and the zip closure takes both hands to open smoothly for the first few weeks until the leather softens at the zip end.

For quick errands and evenings, it does the job a handbag cannot – it disappears into a pocket and still looks like something.