In the 1990s, a lot of men were interested in really slim, minimalist wallets or something that didn’t take up much space, and so, money clips became more popular, especially in the US, even though they had been around for many decades prior. Yes, can you believe it? A cheap vinyl wallet for a gentleman? But, in fact, some luxury brands use that for their goods. You also have poly alternatives on the market. While leather was by far the most popular material for wallets.
An old advert of different wallets with card slots. While the actual wallet size shrank, what was in the wallet actually increased, leading, of course to, really overstuffed wallets. With the rise of credit and debit cards a few decades ago, the billfold wallet had actual card slots because that’s what became most prevalent.Īs the 20th century advanced, bigger coat wallets became less popular because fewer and fewer men wore jackets, and the regular wallet as we know it today became firmly established. I believe it’s because the lowest bill in the US is a one-dollar bill versus the lowest bill in Europe is a five euro bill. In Germany, for example, today, a standard wallet still has a coin pouch versus, in the US, that’s not the case. The modern one pound note measures 5.2in x 2.75in long, less than half of the size of the 1805 version.Ĭoins were also more prevalent in most countries and so many wallets had coin pouches that were built-in at a time. An 8in x 4.5in long one-pound note from 1805. In order to make it fit and still wear comfortably, now, the wallets were folded in half and had a smaller footprint. Now, in the early 20th century, men started moving their wallet from their inside chest pocket towards their trouser pockets. That’s about five and one-fifth inches by two and three-quarter inches. Crazy, right? Compare this to the modern one-pound note, which is 135 millimeters by 67, so less than half of the size.
One of the popular wallets back then was the coat wallet, which was quite large, but why were they so big? First of all, wallets were typically carried on the interior pockets of a jacket, so they could be bigger and, on top of that, the paper currency was a lot larger.įor example, this one-pound note from 1805 was 200 by 113 millimeters long. A late 19th-century version of the fly wallet. Looks like one.” A leather purse from the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, if you look at them, you’d probably say, “Yeah, that’s a wallet. Some were made out of fabric with moiré, others had a frame or a strap. Many wallets had special compartments for calling cards, there are little items, and even the shape of a wallet in the 18th and 19th century was quite varied. Just look at this late 19th-century version of the fly wallet, which was meant to keep flies for fishing. And even then, up into the 19th century, a wallet was often used to refer to anything that you put something into. In fact, it wasn’t until the late 17th century, when paper currency was introduced, that the wallet, as you know it today, took shape and form. When the wallet was initially designed, one would fold up their things in it.Īctually, for most of human history, currency in the form of coins was usually transported in pouches or little purses or sacks or chests of little strings. For instance, in William Shakespeare’s 1602 play “Troilus and Cressida,” one character remarks, “Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, wherein he puts alms for oblivion.” Yeah, that indicates that wallets look more like a knapsack rather than the wallet as we know it today. Others say it’s derived from a Proto-Germanic word, which means as much as “to roll” because you used to roll up things in your wallet way back when it was first invented.Īctually, for most of its history, the term “wallet” referred to any type of leather bag or storage, not something that was just specifically for money. Some argue the origins of the word are derived from the old French term “gollette,” which means “little snout,” and I guess, you could argue it looks like one. A really cool wallet can also exude elegance, luxury, and your personal style. So, overall, I would argue a wallet is still essential in a gentleman’s wardrobe today. A wallet can store more than just cash here, Raphael stashes some adhesive bandages in his wallet. However, I’ve encountered numerous times where you actually want to pay and the app doesn’t work, so you still need your cards, sometimes you still need cash or checks, and I typically carry maybe a little SD card in my wallet, a little band-aid, maybe the card for my local bakery, or a gift card for my car wash. As services like Google Pay or Apple Pay have become more popular, many argue there’s no real need for a men’s wallet anymore.