What your wallet says about you

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, July, 1998 by Robert Frick

Frank and others in the wallet business would love to sell men on a two-wallet "system," in which you'd carry a driver's license, some cash and a couple of credit cards in a small wallet in your front trouser pocket, and keep the rest of your cards and other paraphernalia in a larger, traditional wallet.

Fat chance. Aside from appearing to be a blatant attempt to sell more wares (two such wallets from Bosca would cost about $90, compared with $60 for a basic bifold), asking a man to split up the contents of his wallet complicates a simple, time-honored tradition. And given the sentimental attachment between a man and his wallet, such advice could be perceived as the equivalent of advocating leather-goods polygamy.

When it comes to wallet styling, women are more willing to play the field. In Southern California, women tend to buy small leather goods that fit into the sleek bags that go hand-in-hand with Hollywood's fashion-conscious Zeitgeist, says Linda Hodgson, managing director of Ghurka, a high-end leather-goods maker. Back East, women will pay as much as $170 for a "zip around" wallet with an accordion-style interior that offers quick and easy access. "It's a speed thing," says Sandra Shapiro, Ghurka's national sales manager. "East Coasters are more fast-paced."

But many women stubbornly cling to their traditional seven-inch frames. Frank argues that two or three separate leather accessories can be split up among jacket pockets, fit better into a purse and can be cheaper, depending on the style. A checkbook cover, wallet with change purse and credit card holder from Bosca cost about $90, compared with $117 for a seveninch frame.

CONTENTED COWHIDE

$60, Bosca's basic bifold is smack in the middle of the market. At the low end, mass-market purveyors such as Buxton can put a leather wallet in your pocket for $21. On the upside, a Coach billfold runs about $90, and Ghurka's men's wallets start at $120 (or as much as $450 if your taste runs to alligator).

But you're paying for the name because leather is leather, right? Wrong. The best grade is "full grain," meaning the hide just under the animal's hair, which also carries the natural markings. Just below full grain is "top grain," also handsome and durable but not as distinctive as full grain. And better wallet makers take pride in being distinctive. Even Bosca's $60 billfold comes from cows raised in Normandy, France, where the fields are enclosed with moats instead of fences. (No fences mean fewer scars to mar the finish of the leather.)

And then there's workmanship. Matt Leipzig, the literary agent, once bought a $10 leather wallet at an open-air market in Italy and was excited to get such a bargain. But when the fabric lining fell apart, Leipzig caved in and bought a Coach. '

In general, glued edges don't last as long as stitched ones, and stitching should be done with nylon or polyester thread for durability. Edges should be folded under; blunt-cut edges tend to wear and fray. Makers of better wallets taper the thickness of the leather where it is folded over to make edges. That way, the edges are no thicker than the rest of the leather and don't bulge. Better wallets also have a gusset on the fold, so that they bend in half naturally and put less stress on the joint.