A red polka-dot skater dress, rust suede platform sandals, a tan leather satchel worn crossbody, round wire glasses. And a Pekingese on a chain lead, which you can’t buy, but it doesn’t hurt. Midday in Sarlat, golden stone, café terraces in deep shade, and she walks straight out of the dark into full sun. The red does the rest. Why it works: every piece is simple, and none of them fight.

Everything in this outfit is deliberately boring except two things, and that is the whole trick. Light-wash high-waisted skinny jeans, a slouchy olive tee tucked loosely at the front, and then red. Red strappy stiletto sandals with an ankle tie, and a small structured red bag with gold hardware on a long red strap. Two red objects at opposite ends of the body, nothing else competing. It reads expensive and it costs almost nothing to reproduce, because the expensive-looking part is the colour discipline, not the labels.