Picture it: summer holiday, evening. You’re off along the seafront for an after-dinner stroll. The weather is perfect. You feel refreshed and relaxed in a light T-shirt and linen shorts. There isn’t a single trouble weighing you down, but something else is. Maybe it’s the coins jangling in your pocket or the wallet that’s too bulky for your shorts. Either way, it’s a bother.

What do you do? Dispense with a wallet altogether? Or find a happy medium between billfold and slim fit? And what to do with your loose change? It’s a holiday conundrum we’re here to solve. If you have others, email us at asky@mrporter.com and we’ll do all we can to solve your style questions – or we’ll rope in one of the world’s foremost fashion brains to help. Welcome to Ask MR PORTER.

Your out-of-office message is on. Handover notes have been fired off. Your summer reading is uploaded on the Kindle. Now you can breathe because summer is all about lightening the load. If you’re taking a weight off your mind, you might also want to do the same with your clothing. It’s time for shorts, a T-shirt and no excess baggage in the wardrobe department. Some things are, however, less easy to shed than the winter coat. Wherever you are and whatever you’re wearing this summer, you will still need your keys, phone and wallet.

The luxury billfold wallet may have its place when you want to make a splash over dinner and settle the tab in style. Now that coins and notes are less commonplace, however, demand for slimmer wallets has rocketed.

The slimmer option does wonders for silhouettes and planning purposes, according to Mr Olie Arnold, Style Director at MR PORTER, who is a cardholder convert. “It keeps me disciplined when deciding what I do and don’t need in there and never creates unsightly bumps in your trouser or jacket pockets,” he says. “As cash and coins become less relevant and receipts getting emailed becomes more popular, the need for a traditional wallet for me has gone.”

This is not to say that wallets, whatever their size, are obsolete. Technology is great, so long as you’ve got battery charge. “The thought of running out of battery or something glitching gives me the fear,” says Arnold. “I opt for a high-quality leather cardholder from someone such as Valextra or Bottega Veneta. There is an initial upfront cost, but it will last you a long time and, with the wear and tear from constant use, it will also get better with age.”

What’s a little extra accessory when it looks so good? Menswear editor Mr Shane C Kurup advises carrying a slim cardholder with space for four to six cards and an inner slip pocket for the odd banknote (yes, he still carries cash). It’s practical, undemanding and looks good. “Bottega Veneta, the champion of woven leather, has styles of this ilk in a range of jazzy colours that will just get better with age,” he says. “Montblanc does a matching cardholder and belt set – definitely one for the wardrobe harmoniser. If you’re of a more expressive persuasion, then LOEWE’s watermelon number should provide a juicy talking point.”

Not that these are simply accessories for the sake of it. “If you’re lucky enough to find yourself on holiday in warmer climes or are doing the rounds at a local street food market, you might find a cardholder with a coin compartment useful,” says Kurup. “There’s nothing worse than loose shrapnel rolling around in your pockets and it will help you keep track of that change so you can get rid of it ASAP. The likes of TOM FORD and Acne Studios have the answer in the form of zipped cardholders, which come with handy lanyard straps so you can wear them and keep your precious pocket space free for other effects.”