College Essential #2: ID Holder

In high school, I did a summer program where I took a college class for three weeks, stayed in the dorms, etc. I quickly learned that it was necessary to have SOMETHING to hold my ID card and room key. Many other kids chose to keep theirs on lanyards, but I find lanyards terribly annoying. I have always thought they looked kind of dorky, so I used a round Burberry coin purse. My ID didn't even fit in it but it was three weeks so I dealt with it. But I vowed that in college, I would find something cute and functional that was NOT a lanyard.

Here are the top two that I have found.

On the top, we have a kate spade big apple darla, katespade.com, $55. On the bottom, a Coach mini skinny, coach.com, starting at $38. The Coach website is weird, but just scroll down to the Mini Skinny section and you can see the various color options and such!

I am currently using the Kate Spade one, and I like it better for two reasons. First of all, it has a billion more compartments. On the inside, it has a large pocket with a keyring, a zip pocket and two small slots that you can easily fit some credit cards into. On the back, it has a clear ID card slot, as well as another pocket where you can stuff your random things! The Coach one only has two pockets: the zip one with a keyring, and a slot on the back for your ID/cards. The Coach does have the smaller size going for it, but I'd rather have it a bit bigger and be able to carry more! The second reason I like the Kate Spade one more is because it's patent leather, so I don't need to worry about spilling anything on it while out at a party or at the dining hall. 

Some people like lanyards because then they don't have to use their hands. But I'm always holding my phone anyway, so what's one more thing to hold? I personally don't have a problem holding it, and it's better than having a larger wristlet. I can easily hold it with my Blackberry!

Whatever you do in college, make sure you have SOMETHING to keep your ID/keys with you! I've never lost mine! I've seen lots of people store their IDs in the back of their gel cases for their iPhones/Blackberries, which is definitely an option but probably not the best one for your ID or your phone!