Italian Ingenuity.

Northern Italy is chic and aloof, lots of chilly self-control.

Things designed for women are often clumsy, even stupid, adaptations of menswear. This woman's wallet is an exception.

I stumbled upon it in a small leather shop in Florence, off the Ponte Vecchio, in a sliver of a building that almost wasn't there.

The designer of this wallet (quite possibly a woman) clearly knows what a woman needs in a wallet. Like a clutch purse, it folds in half, snapping neatly and securely shut. (Odd to a man, familiar to a woman.)

Unsnap the front flap, and you have big compartments for change and other necessaria, including three clever ones that expand accordion-style. (Women have a proliferation of change, like men, but no pockets, or too few.)

You also get eight slots for credit cards, business cards, and theater tickets. Each half of the wallet has a single snug interior pocket (good for letters from secret admirers). And almost huge pocket that runs the whole width can handle passports, itineraries, street maps, etc.

Italian Woman's Wallet (No. 2438), in rich Brown Italian calfskin with a convincing crocodile finish that evokes the 1940s; will mellow with use. Leather lining. Pale Gold brass hardware.

Definitely not for men.

Dimensions: approx. 8-1/2” x 7-1/4” open, 4-1/4” x 7-1/4” closed.