There’s something about a wallet that makes us hang onto it. It can be overly drawn-out — sometimes we outgrow our billfolds (there is a point when Velcro doesn’t pass), and sometimes we outlive them (excessive rips and tears don’t count as patina).
I recently came up against a point of transition with my wallet. It was a leather bifold that I’ve carried since high school (I bought it from Brooks Brothers using store credit earned after exchanging some less-flattering sweaters given to me by my grandmother), and it was well-worn but still in good shape. My issue with it was that it had become cumbersome, and removing even a single business card would throw the tension of its sleeves out of whack, causing the rest of the contents to fall out too. It was time to start over.
If I was going to abandon my old standby along with the shine, flexibility and soft feel earned over years of use, I was going to do two things — one, buy a worthy replacement made with quality materials and two, slim it down. It forced me to reevaluate all the random mementos I uselessly carried every day: stickers, membership cards, receipts. I was reluctant to approach this task, so I decided to pick the wallet first and let its capacity dictate what to keep and what to go without.
I landed on Bellroy’s Slim Sleeve wallet. I’ll spoil the end of the story by admitting that I’m obsessed with the damn thing and wish that I had discovered it years ago. It’s nearly a third of the size of my old wallet and easily holds everything (license, credit cards, Metrocard) that I use frequently, and still some that I don’t. I don’t have to fight my jeans to remove it from a pocket, and no chiropractor will diagnose any future back issues I may encounter as a result of it being on my person. I’m confident that when mine wears out, I’ll pick up another.
If your wallet is tattered, or just too large, give the Slim Sleeve your consideration. It’s currently on sale at Huckberry in a bundle with an equally-slim key organizer for 21 percent off.