A wallet is, ostensibly, a vessel for currency and identification — a piece of leather folded against the shape of your daily transactions. This framing is correct as far as it goes. It does not go far.
A wallet is what you produce when someone asks for your card. It is what falls out of your pocket when you set your coat down at someone’s house. It is what your future self will look at, in five years, and feel something about. The leather will have absorbed the oils of your hands. The corners will have softened. The interior will, by then, smell — and I mean this in the most precise way possible — like you.
I have spent some time with the three wallets below. I will not pretend any of them is, strictly, a necessity. I will, however, tell you which one I think you should carry. The first is for the person who appreciates that a wallet can be a small inheritance. The second is for the person who has too many cards and not enough hours. The third is for the person who has read this far and is wondering, with some justification, whether all of this is necessary.
It is not necessary. It rarely is. The Editorial Office has reviewed this piece and will be appending a note at the end. You may find their note useful. You may also find it unnecessary. We are all, here, professionals.
