The Virtues Of A Double-Decker Wallet
Most men, no matter how well or badly dressed, carry overstuffed, beat up wallets that should have been replaced years ago. Why is that? -Jonathan Carroll
With all due respect to Mr. Carroll, I know exactly why I’ve held onto this bi-fold wallet for the past three and a half years, despite the fact that age and repetitive abuse are now starting to take its toll. As an unabashed fan of buses – and the London/AEC Routemaster in particular – I made sure to drag my wife to the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden during our vacation abroad in England. While I highly recommend the place for a visit (even my non-transpophile wife enjoyed it), I also highly recommend its superb gift shop for souvenirs that are both symbolic of London and different from what you’ll find in most tourist-trap trinket shops. That’s where this wallet comes into play. Yes, that is a plaid moquette fabric stitched into its exterior cover. And while you’ve probably not seen a wallet that looked like this, if you’ve ever spent any time on London’s iconic Routemaster double-decker bus, you’ve certainly seen seats that looked like this. When designer Douglas Scott was hired to create the look and feel of the Routemaster in the late 1950s, he was also charged with designing a seat fabric that was both attractive and yet durable to withhold the repetitive use and abuse in daily service. While Scott probably never envisioned that abuse to include overstuffing a wallet and carrying it in a pocket on a daily basis, I’m happy to say his moquette has still weathered that abuse handsomely, showing only perhaps a slight fade in color. In fact, this wallet looks better after three years of use than most other wallets I’ve owned following a mere 12 months service. If that isn’t a testament to the quality of work performed by Matt Fothergill - the talented bespoke bag and leather goods artisan LTM partnered with to produce these items - I don’t know what is. I cannot speak enough good about this wallet. It’s handled the plethora of plastic cards I’ve carried day-in, day out. It’s neatly separated my receipts from my petty cash. Its coin pouch has tolerated the vending machine change I occasionally carry and miraculously handled the chunky quid coins I needed to pay for parking (or the occasional pint) in Scotland. It’s done all this while aging remarkably gracefully. Although Fothergill’s embossed trademark within has faded somewhat, the only other true sign of wear is a very small tear at the corner of one of the credit card pockets. I suspect, much the Routemaster itself, that damage can easily be repaired, allowing the wallet to continue to surpass my expectations for longevity. But in any case, as these items are finally back in stock, I’ve ordered an extra pair just to be safe. At something close to $60 a pop, these wallets aren’t exactly inexpensive, but if you’re looking for a timeless design, a sturdy wallet, and a piece of transportation legend in one accessory, look no further.