

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.
