Five Plus One is our weekly series of buyer’s guides. We pick a specific category and dig up five great options along with one that’s a little outside the norm.
It’s nice to be able to carry everything you want in your wallet, but the truth is the majority of your wallet’s contents will go unused most days. And the added material needed to carry so much really adds to the bulk of the wallet. For most of us a simple card holder will do just fine, and it will help you to weed out the unnecessary things you carry each day.
1) Tanner Goods: Journeyman in Natural Veg-Tan
Tanner Goods’ Journeyman Wallet is about as basic as they come. With four card slots and one slightly larger pinch-pocket, this wallet can certainly hold all of your daily essentials. It’s made of a natural vegetable than that will quickly develop a patina, and since leather is stretchy each card holder will be able to hold multiple cards if need be.
Available for $60 from Tanner Goods.
2) Guarded Goods: Warden Card Holder in Shinki Hikaku Black/Brown Shell Cordovan
Guarded Goods is a small, one-man operation producing high quality leather goods. Both made-to-order and in-stock products are offered, although the latter is limited at the moment. This Warden Card Holder is produced from Japanese Shinki Hikaku shell cordovan, with a brown exterior and black interior. This model comes with three slots, the perfect in-between sized card holder.
Available for $170 from Guarded Goods.
3) Corter Leather: Card Sleeve Indigo Edition
For the true minimalist, Corter Leather’s Card Sleeve in Indigo might be just the ticket. Each holder is constructed from a single piece of leather that is folded and stitched, which should be able to hold up to six cards from day one. The front of the case features a curved cutout to help the cards be easily extracted, while the back has a thumb slot allowing the back card to be slipped out on the fly.
Like this? Read these:
Available for $58 from Corter Leather.
4) Apolis: Leather Card Holder
Apolis’s Leather Card Holder features another classic design: one internal pocket and one slot on each side. It’s simple, symmetrical, and and can hold up to nine cards. It’s pretty amazing how much stuff can be stuffed into on of these little card holders when you get right down to it, and this card holder is just one of many great options.
Available for $58 from Apolis.
5) Hender Scheme: One Piece Card Case in Black
Hender Scheme’s One Piece Card Holder is a bit different from other models on the market. It’s not that one piece card holders are particularly rare, but this model is folded in such a way that it has more of a pocket than a slot. It closes with a punched hole and stud, which is secure enough to keep everything enclosed without sacrificing its minimalist nature.
Available for $85 from Haven Shop.
Plus One – Maison Margiela: Card Holder Pollock Splatter in White
Maison Margiela sure loves their paint splatter effects, and somehow I think it’s much better suited to their Pollock Card Holder than, say, their paint splattered German Army Trainers. Here it offers a bit of a design feature to an otherwise simple accessory, which I understand people liking (even if many would prefer a more straightforward piece). It features six card slots and an internal pinch-pocket for slightly larger items, such as folded bills.
Available for $255 from Need Supply.
