Wallets for Women: From a Manhattan Loft to Your Coat Pocket

In 1941, a family-run workshop in a Manhattan loft started turning out leather goods, and the company began with just six leather workers making small leather goods, primarily wallets and billfolds, by hand. That workshop became Coach. The handbags came later, added to supplement the factory's low-margin wallet production, which tells you where the craft started. I like that wallets are the origin story, because a wallet is the one leather piece you touch a dozen times before lunch. I went deeper on a related idea in Coach Cologne Starts With Suede and a Manhattan Loft.

 

So here is my case for wallets for women: pick the closure first, the leather second, the label last. The Cahns, who took over the company, were intrigued by the way the soft leather of a baseball glove gets better with time, and they built a tanning process around that idea. That is the right test for anything you keep in a bag for years. Ask whether it will look better in twelve months or worse. If you want to keep going, Gucci Card Holder for Women: Card Cases, Wallets and Chains is the one I would read next.

 

Zip-arounds are the place to start, since a zip keeps coins, cards and receipts from escaping in a tote. Every US bill is 6.14 inches long, so a true continental has to be built around that length, and the Tory Burch Zip Continental in black pebbled leather has the divided interior for it. The Kate Spade Devin in Mountain Pass, an olive green pebbled leather, is the one I would pair with a camel coat this month. The Coach New York Zip Wallet in Maple is superslim and smooth, with an accordion interior built for eight cards. For evening I would look at the Saint Laurent Cassandre Bijou in light taupe, diamond-quilted, or the Bottega Veneta intrecciato zip-around in black.

 

My tip: zip it shut with everything inside before you buy. If it bulges when full, it will stretch.

Overstuffing is what shortens a wallet's life, since it permanently stretches the pockets and strains the seams. That is the argument for the compact and bifold group, where the shape forces you to edit. I would carry four cards, a folded bill and nothing else, and let the phone live in the bag.

 

The Marc Jacobs Pop J Marc is a slim black compact zip wallet with a gold clip charm, and it is the one I would clip inside a bag so it never gets lost. The Longchamp Le Foulonné in camel has a grained surface and a top zip pocket, which is where coins go so they do not rattle the card slots. For a fresher look, the Coach polished pebble bifold in chalk is small, white and finished with a gold C. The Tory Burch Robinson in pale gray-blue has the double-T medallion and suits a navy coat. Bottega Veneta's brown intrecciato bifold, with its side zip, is the quiet one.

 

At the counter, open it and close it ten times. A bifold should lie flat when you pull out a card, with no fight from the stitching. Check that the card slot sits snug at the edge, and that the snap or clasp lines up without a tug.

 

What I would skip: a cream high-gloss bifold, like the Mulberry Lana, if your jeans dye or your bag lining is dark. I would keep it for a lighter bag.

The word wallet started life in the late 14th century as walet, a bag or knapsack used by travelers, and the flat pocket-case for paper currency is recorded by 1834. Then came the cards. Diners Club says it became the world's first multipurpose charge card in 1950, after Frank McNamara forgot his wallet at a New York restaurant. Whatever you make of the legend, the wallet has been shrinking toward the card ever since, and the card case is where it ended up.

 

A good case holds a license, one card and a spare, and slips into a coat pocket on its own. The Coach Essential Leather Card Case in brown is slim with a gold C. Kate Spade's Halo, in smooth black leather, is the plainest and the easiest to live with. The Longchamp Le Roseau adds a gold bamboo clasp, and the Marc Jacobs Leather Card Case in red is pebbled leather, a good texture if you like a lived-in finish. If you want the pop, the Tory Burch Flat Card Case in hot pink is hard to lose at the bottom of a bag.

 

The Burberry Sandon is check canvas with leather trim, and the Bottega Veneta intrecciato case is woven, so both feel different from smooth leather. If a label says saffiano, remember it is a crosshatch texture pressed into a wax finish, and the name now covers many materials, so read the tag.

 

What I would skip: a case with a tight single pocket if you carry a bulky hotel key card. It will stretch the first week.

Shakespeare used the word in The Tempest, around 1610, when Gonzalo talks about mountaineers dew-lapped like bulls, with wallets of flesh hanging at their throats. A pouch that hangs off you has been in the language a long time, which is a nice thought when you are choosing a wristlet. This is the wallet you wear, and for holiday party season it is the one I would grab.

 

The Coach Small Polished Pebbled Leather Wristlet in black has a zip and a wrist strap, and it is a small zip pouch for a phone, a card and a lipstick. Kate Spade's Small Zippy in pink pebbled leather is the cheerful version. The Coach Signature Jacquard in khaki is the monogram one, with a leather wrist strap. Frye's Melissa in cognac converts with a removable strap, and the Tom Ford zip-top in black patent is the sleek evening option. For something dressier, the Christian Louboutin Small Bettina carries a metal stud.

 

Test the loop before the zip. Slide your hand through it with your phone inside and walk around the shop with that hand relaxed. If the strap bites your wrist or the pouch swings, it is the wrong length.

 

What I would skip: a croc-embossed wristlet such as Frances Valentine's in dark brown, if you want something to toss into a gym bag. It reads dressy, so I would save it for dinners.

A color wallet is the quickest way to change a bag, and the right one can wake up a black tote. Care is simple: wipe with a slightly damp cloth, and condition once or twice a year with a small amount of leather balm. Test any product on a hidden spot first, since color leather shows a mistake. Dry slowly if it gets wet, and never on a radiator.

 

Red is the easy start. The Marc Jacobs Mini Compact in True Red has embossed lettering on pebbled leather, and the Rebecca Minkoff Insider is a red trifold with a gold plate. Pink runs from the Tory Burch Romy in hot pink, a medium zip-around with a logo zip pull, to Bottega Veneta's light pink intrecciato French wallet with a gold zip. Green belongs to Mulberry's Darley, an emerald flap wallet with a brass postman lock. Blue can be Mulberry's bright Portobello folded card wallet, Strathberry's navy Mosaic trifold in Loch Blue, or the Longchamp Le Pliage Xtra flap card case in lime, which is more yellow than green.

 

Hold it next to your most-worn bag in daylight, not shop lighting. Colors that look soft indoors can shift a lot outside.

 

What I would skip: pale pink with raw denim or a new tan bag. I would keep it for a lighter outfit and check the care tag.

I would choose in order. First the closure, a zip if I carry coins and a bifold if I do not. Then the leather, pebbled for daily scuffs and smooth if I baby things. Then the color, which is the fun part.

 

If I could only buy one, it would be a slim zip in a leather that softens, like Coach's Maple zip wallet. It started with six workers and a loft, and the wallet is still the part of the house I trust most. Carry it lean, front pocket if you can, and it should still be around when the next holiday party arrives.