We Show You Our Wallets

“I’ve had it for about three years. It was a hand-me-down from my mom. The clasp for the change doesn’t work so now I use a change purse too.” —Leilani

“It’s new, I got it last month at Loehmann’s. I wanted a fun summer wallet and this one was really bright—and it’s L.A.M.B. I really wanted a L.A.M.B. wallet. Actually I wanted a L.A.M.B. bag, but I couldn’t afford it! And I like that the change purse is inside—so it doesn’t spill out.” —Daniela

“I was looking for a wallet for a long time, and I found this one at Neiman Marcus while I was in Virginia visiting my parents. It was on sale. I like that it has a mirror in it, and has a lot of slots for credit cards—and three slots for money. I don’t really need a purse, I can just carry this.” —Esther

“Just looking at this picture of it makes me realize how shabby it really is—and how much I need to replace it. It was a gift, and I’ve had for about two years. I actually hate it. I recently stopped keeping change in the change part because it constantly opens. The people at the registers have been getting mad at me lately because I never have a dime or five cents, and they have to give me back 95 cents. It’s annoying. I’ve been half—heartedly looking for a replacement, just haven’t found one yet!” —Gabrielle

“It’s so old. I got it at a tent discount thing—for Pine Cone Hill. It was just in a basket, and the price was so great – I have no idea what it was but it was great. The change purse opens randomly, so I’ve had my change spill out probably about 700 times. At most times it spills out when I open my wallet to show my train ticket, so it’s probably spilled out in Metro North about 650 times. But I still have it. My husband tried to replace it, but it was the wrong shade and didn’t have enough pockets. It was an admirable effort, and is sitting brand new at home. I think last week I was in the back of a cab and all of my cards came out—my Oxford insurance card, my driver’s license—so there I was trying to get out of the cab and trying to gather all of this stuff. It’s like an old dog that needs to be put down. It needs a nice little burial spot like in Marley & Me." —Judy

“I like that it restrains me—I can only put as much stuff in as it will let me, otherwise it won’t close. I’ve had it for about a year. I like the metallic color and the texture. And it’s cute and I can take it out at night—it’s kind of dressy.” —Natalie

“I got it last year. I had a big wallet before and I didn’t want to carry so much stuff with me all the time, so I wanted something smaller. The ladies at the deli in my building always tell me how much they love it. I just keep the essentials in it, I have bigger one at home with all of my frequent shopper cards. I think that big wallets are good for cash, and I never have cash on me so this one is great.” —Leah

“It’s Dior, it was a gift from a friend I worked with. I would never spend that much on a wallet because I always beat them up! Before I got this one, I was always switching wallets—and without fail, I would lose a credit card every time. But this one has a ton of credit card slots—I don’t even understand why I have all of these, but I do! I use another pouch thing for my ID and stuff.” —Rachel

“I can’t remember when I got it. Look at it—it’s bulging! I tried using a larger wallet that looked nicer, but I missed this one. It’s easy to get to my change, allows me to keep more junk than I need. It has the right number of slots and pockets and it’s not too large.” —Stephanie

“I’m a big fan of the designer Orla Kiely, I have a couple of their bags. I like how it looks cute so I can carry it without a purse. This one was a gift, it’s a replacement, I lost the first one when I was moving my car.” —Jenn

“My boyfriend got it for me for Christmas. I like that it keeps me very organized, it’s flat, and I can use it as a purse. It holds a lot of credit cards—I’m trying to cut back on those! I think everyone is! I only need to have five!” —Wendy

“It holds everything. I got the light color because I needed it to stand out. My bags are always dark, so the white/cream is perfect. I also really like the buckle.” —Daisy

“This wallet is called the Slim Slimmy (no joke!). It’s supposed to fit into a front pocket of your pants (though most women’s jeans these days don’t have deep enough pockets to fit it). I don’t think it’s very cute, but I do love that it only fits a tiny amount of stuff. It forces me to edit what I keep in there—and really, who needs to carry around a month’s worth of receipts anyway?" —Jennifer

“I don’t wear leather. I can normally go to Urban Outfitters and find wallets—that’s where I got this one. I think it’s vinyl. The zipper’s broken, and I have a new one at home I really need to start using. This one is too big, it makes me disorganized.” —Patti