Two Things to Focus on when Buying a Wallet: Functionality and Presentability
Wallet Functionality
What do we mean here?
Your wallet's ability to do what it needs to do. And for a lot of us, that's carrying money. That's carrying cash, so a wallet needs to be able to carry cash.
However, you don't want to carry too much. You don't want to gorge it like this wallet here.
If you carry something like this, you're either going to the type of club that you probably shouldn't be if you're a married man, or you're going to give yourself back pains.
Other things you should carry in your wallet:
- Identification
- Credit cards
- Business cards
- Photos
I get into these in a lot more detail in the A Man's Wallet (article posted in the Art of Manliness), but in general, you want to carry as little as possible.
Things you want to leave out:
- Discount cards
- Library cards
- Medical cards
- Social security card
- Condoms – leave them in the vehicle
- Coins – unless you're in Europe. I understand Europeans, you guys have a lot of coins, so there, I can't help you.
- Receipts – a lot of you guys are carrying receipts that you've had for five years in your wallet. Just take it out and put it away.
- Keys – a wallet is not the best way to carry keys if you have a lot of them.
Getting back up to some of the cards, I realized that some of these, you may use that discount card every single day.
In that case, keep it in your wallet, but a lot of you guys are carrying discount cards that you haven't shopped at that store for six months. Take the card out.
The Right Wallet for the Right Job:
1. You need to understand your needs. Obviously, if you're a banker or you're someone that's spending a lot of time as an outdoor guide, your wallet needs are going to be different.
2. There's nothing wrong with having multiple wallets. So if you're going to be travelling, I know that I always use my passport wallet because I'm travelling with five people. I've got three kids, so five passports I'm carrying and I need to have room.
3. Leather is dressier than synthetic. Also, the darker the leather, usually the dressier it is, although that's not always the case.
4. Remember this rule, if nothing else, the smaller your wallet is, the less you will carry.
Wallet Types
1. Basic Billfold
Now, it can be a bifold or it can be a trifold. In any case, this is what probably 90% to 95% of us use, but there are a lot of other options out there, so here's a variation on the billfold. It is a darker leather, so very nice, but you notice those three little slots. Those are for guitar picks. There are wallets out there that are very unique to the individual.
2. Sports Wallet
I mentioned if you're an outdoor guy, the great thing about this type of a wallet, it's got a zipper. It's got Velcro. This is going to possibly even be water resistant, if not waterproof, so a good thing for a guy that's outside a lot.
3. Travel Wallet
For the traveler, he wants something with a passport and this wallet is designed specifically for something of that size. We've got a very similar passport wallet, but you see here, the style is a very different one. This one is made by Kenton Sorenson.
We have not only for passports, but this one comfortably holds credit cards. It probably uses a bit more room and we can see that this is probably again more of a travel wallet, much larger, but by the euros in there, we can tell that this is probably a guy jumping between countries and a businessman who spends a lot of time in the airport.
4. Money Clipper
For the man that's going to be moving about and he doesn't need a passport, he can use a money clipper, in this case, a money clipthat's attached to a wallet.
5. Super Slim Wallet
We see a lot of these thin wallets. I really like these. I think that they force a man to get down to the bare necessities. Again, this is a wallet by Kenton Sorenson.
Here, we have something from Duluth Trading Company and we can see it's a very small wallet, again, thin just enough for the ID, your credit card.
Actually, on the flipside of this, we would see the billfold or the money clip.
Now, this unique wallet, this is one that you'll see that fits in the front of your pockets, so your front pocket, not your back pocket.
The great thing about this is it will still hold dollar bills. It will still hold credit cards, but it fits in an area which is supposedly less likely to be pickpocketed. I haven't seen the stats on that, so I can't tell you.
All right, that summarizes this overview of men's wallets. If you want more, make sure to visit the article.
We'd go into a lot more detail. This was just a quick overview. Make sure to go check out our free 47-page e-book on men's style. There's a lot of great content there. I think you'll enjoy it.
