11 Stylish Wallets Worthy of Holding Your Black Card
What looks cooler? Hovering your phone over a card reader waiting for the right “beep,” or reaching into your pocket to produce a beautiful piece of leather that’s grown softer and developed a unique patina with time?
There’s a right answer here, and it’s the latter. At a time when cash is on the wane, carrying a wallet has itself become a statement of style and substance, not unlike wearing a hand-wound mechanical watch when you could check the time on a screen. Wallets also offer an opportunity to work exotic leathers like alligator into your wardrobe, and support artisans who continue to practice traditional techniques like saddle stitching, a process by which each thread is hand-sewn using two needles so that they lock independently, meaning that if one stitch comes undone, the whole job won’t unravel.
From royal warrant-holding English heritage brands to Florentine artisans to American upstarts, we’ve scoured the field to find the best wallets below.
Chester Mox #90 American Alligator/French Chèvre Leather Bifold Wallet
Founded in 2009, Chester Mox makes leather goods in California, utilizing old-world techniques like hand-sewn saddle stitching and hand-painted edges. Its #90 bifold is available in a dozen shades of genuine American alligator hide and lined in the customer’s choice from among 18 different colors of French goatskin.
Buy Now ON CHESTER MOX: $1,350
Ettinger Bridle Hide Coat Wallet
Royal warrant-holder Ettinger continues to champion the traditional coat wallet, cut tall but narrower so as to fit into the spacious pockets of an overcoat. Its bridle leather model easily accommodates eight card slots stacked vertically on one side, with three horizontal dividers on the other that fit unfolded banknotes.
RRL Leather Envelope Wallet
At a time when carrying paper currency is increasingly antique, RRL’s envelope wallet leans into the vintageVintageVintage refers to the specific year a wine's grapes were harvested, with exceptional vintages reflecting particularly favorable growing season conditions within a given region and year. Serious collectors track vintageGo to Vintage Glossary feel. Made from vegetable-tanned Italian leather that’s been burnished by hand for a worn-in look, it closes with a silver-finished snap.
Métier Inside Out Wallet
Métier excels at proposing new shapes and functions for its leather bags and accessories, a feat it’s pulled off again in the case of its Inside Out Wallet. Made from grained buffalo leather, it features a zipped pocket on one side and exterior snap-closure pockets on the other, while still being able to hold banknotes within.
Homer Tri-Fold Leather Wallet
Montecito-based Homer makes rugged yet elegant leather goods from beefy vegetable-tanned leather that will pick up a unique patina over time. Its tri-fold wallet features nine card slots and a full-length bill compartment and boasts hand-finished edges and reinforced stitching.
Dunhill Alfred Bifold Patina Wallet
Dunhill’s saddle-stitched Alfred bifold is made from soft calfskin that’s been hand-finished for a two-tone effect. A leather tab sealed with a piece of silver in an engine-turned pattern ensures it closes securely.
Gurkha Compact Wallet No. 397
Ghurka’s No. 397 wallet is tidy but well-built, featuring four card slots and made from a vegetable-dyed Italian leather marked by the brand’s signature vintage finish. To leave your own mark, ask for your initials to be stamped on the interior when you check out.
Sid Mashburn Card Holder Cognac Glazed Alligator
This five-slot card holder from Sid might be small, but it makes the very most of its minimal dimensions by being made from alligator hide in the USA. Compared to the very shiny version often applied to shoes and belts, this glazed hide feels much more understated.
Il Micio Soft Card Wallet
Japanese-born, Florence-based shoemaker Hidetaka Fukaya founded Il Micio (Italian for “the kitten”) in order to preserve traditional bespoke techniques, to the tune of more than $3,000 for each pair. However, he also crafts small leather goods, like this lightweight goat leather card wallet with ingeniously placed slots and compartments.
Buy Now ON NO MAN WALKS ALONE: $295
Il Bisonte Feniglia Men’s Bi-Fold Wallet
Florence’s Il Bistonte is famous for making its leather goods from components sourced within a 30 km radius of its Tuscan workshop. Out of this remarkably tight supply chain come creations like its Feniglia bifold crafted from unlined, natural leather.
Tom Ford Full-Grain Leather Billfold Wallet with Money Clip
Made from full-grain sheep leather, Tom Ford’s billfold features a gold-tone money clip that keeps bills organized internally and also acts as the wallet’s spine. For guys who still carry lots of cash, this one is hard to beat.
This article originally appeared in Robb Report US.