Men's wallets: thickness, compartments and format
A wallet is chosen first of all for how much room it takes up in a pocket. In this selection the stated thickness runs from one centimetre to two and a half, and the difference is not cosmetic: one centimetre disappears into the inside pocket of a jacket without distorting it, two and a half makes itself felt and sits better in an outside pocket or a bag. The other measurements move very little, between nine and thirteen centimetres a side: it is thickness that decides where the wallet will end up being carried.
The vertical bi-fold opens along the short side and stacks the cards in a column. It measures 13.3 × 9.4 centimetres with one centimetre of thickness, and carries eight card slots, four for documents and two compartments for banknotes. It is the format that holds the most for a given bulk, because it spreads the cards over its height instead of layering them, and it remains the best answer for anyone with many cards who does not want a rigid object in a pocket.
The model with an integrated coin pocket is the most represented on this page. It measures 12 × 9.5 centimetres with two and a half centimetres of thickness, and inside there is room for seven card slots, six for documents, two compartments for banknotes and a closed pocket for coins. It is the answer for anyone who would rather not carry a separate coin purse and accepts a fuller profile in return: coins are what gives any wallet its bulk, and gathering them in a dedicated pocket keeps them from distorting the card slots.
The compact formats drop below ten centimetres wide and give up the document compartments to hold only cards and a few folded notes. They are the choice of anyone who has moved documents and payments onto a phone and uses a wallet for what is left: two or three cards, emergency cash, a driving licence. In a trouser pocket, a compact is the only format you do not notice when you sit down.
Every model available in this selection is declared as being entirely leather. The leather of a wallet works harder than that of a shoe, because it is opened and closed dozens of times a day: over the first months the central fold settles and the hide loses stiffness, then the surface develops a patina that follows the way the object is used. It is worth not loading the card slots beyond their capacity, because it is permanent deformation, not surface wear, that puts a wallet out of service. The rest of the category is gathered in the men's accessories.
