Leather, Suede and Raffia: Caring for The Row Bags
What you notice first about one of these bags is what it does not have. No logo plaque needs protecting, no coated canvas to wipe down, no weight of hardware absorbing the knocks. What you have instead is a lot of exposed surface: calfskin that shows its grain, lambskin linings, suede that marks if you look at it wrongly, and in summer a raffia weave left entirely unsealed. The material, not a finish laid over it, carries almost the whole care burden of The Row bags. That leaves them simple to look after, and unforgiving of mistakes.
The guide below is arranged by material, because that is where the real decisions sit. Opposite treatment goes to a grained calfskin tote and a suede top handle from the same season, while a sisal bag is different again.
Start here: a caveat about care instructions
No public care protocol exists for these bags, because The Row does not publish one. You will find no manual, no published cleaning chart and no brand-approved product line sold with them. What follows is accordingly material-appropriate general guidance, taken from the behaviour of calfskin, lambskin, suede, canvas and raffia rather than from instructions issued by the label. Treat it the way a good leather specialist would: cautious, conservative and biased toward doing less. A definitive brand-issued cleaning routine for these bags does not exist, so anyone who presents one is filling a gap rather than quoting a source. Before anything goes onto a bag you care about, ask a professional.
The habits that matter more than any product
The bulk of the damage to a good bag comes from routine handling, and the remedies are behavioural rather than chemical. The most common mistake, especially with the Margaux and the Park Tote, is overfilling, which is also the fastest way to ysl large tote distort a soft silhouette. The belted side gussets on the Soft Margaux are there to let you adjust the shape, not for cramming more in. Sun dries leather out and fades it; radiators and car dashboards manage it faster. Rain is harder on unfinished surfaces than people assume, and neither suede nor raffia has much defence against it. Keeping a bag out of sun, heat and water achieves more than any product on a shelf.
- Before storage, empty the bag completely, receipts and anything that can transfer colour included.
- Never leave a soft bag hanging by its handles for long, because the drop stretches.
- Put pens, keys and cosmetics in a pouch rather than loose against the lining.
- Pale calfskin and untreated suede want clean hands.
Calfskin in its four forms: smooth, grained, saddle and polished
The most forgiving material in the line is also its backbone. Scuffs and shine both show on smooth calfskin, matte grained calfskin hides them well, and polished saddle leather lands somewhere in between. Routine care is a buff with a soft dry cloth after use, following the grain and giving attention to the corners and base where dirt collects. Sparingly and infrequently are the operative words for a neutral conditioner, provided you test it on a hidden panel first. Over-conditioning darkens hide unevenly, leaves a tacky surface and softens structure you want to keep. Pale calfskin also picks up dye from dark denim, so keep light-coloured bags away from indigo, and never scrub at a transferred mark, as scrubbing spreads it further.
Nappa and lambskin, usually found inside
Because both are more often lining than exterior, protecting them works differently. The Margaux Shoulder is lined in lambskin and the Bourse Clutch sets a calfskin exterior against a nappa lining, so the softest material in the bag is the one your keys sit against. Each is exceptionally soft, each marks easily, and neither one responds to being worked on. Use a dry soft cloth, lightly and rarely. Leave conditioner out of it completely, because these hides are already supple and over-treatment leaves a greasy sheen that will not come out. The protection that works is a pouch inside the bag, never something rubbed onto it.
Suede: the most demanding material in the line
At this label suede is consistently dearer, and the care it needs rises to match. Look at observed 2026 market prices and the gap is obvious: India 10.00 sits at $3,850 in leather against $5,370 in suede, and Agnes 15 runs $5,000 in leather against $5,800 in suede. The nap is what you are paying for, and it flattens, absorbs and stains more readily than any finished hide. Caring for suede is mechanical, not chemical, which is the thing most owners miss. A dedicated suede brush, used gently in one direction, lifts the nap and clears surface dust, and which alone handles most routine wear. Anything wetter goes to a professional.
- Give it a light brush after each wear, working with the nap rather than scrubbing across it.
- A wet bag should dry naturally at room temperature, away from radiators and hairdryers, then brush it once it has dried completely.
- Work dry marks away with a suede eraser and the lightest pressure.
- Do not attempt anything oily, coloured or set — send it to a leather specialist.
What should never touch suede makes a short, absolute list: no leather cream, no conditioner, no wet wipes, no soap and no water-based cleaner. Each of those mats the nap or leaves a ring that shows in every light. Regular brushing achieves more across a year than any treatment, which makes the realistic standard prevention rather than repair.
Raffia and sisal, canvas and nylon, silk and satin
Know before you buy: these are the least serviceable materials the brand works with. Because the sisal family and the woven raffia and linen totes are not tanned surfaces, there is nothing to condition and no way to refinish a stained panel. Canvas and nylon are hard-wearing, but solvents and hard scrubbing damage them, which distorts the weave and leaves a clean patch that reads as damage. Permanent marking from water and skin oils is the risk on silk and satin, the small evening bags and knotted crossbody shapes included. A barely damp cloth, a spot-clean and a quick blot — that is the only home treatment worth trying on any of them. Prevention does all the work here, so keep them clear of rain and sunscreen.
| Material | Everyday care | Never do this |
|---|---|---|
| Calfskin in grained and smooth form | A soft, dry cloth; neutral conditioner, sparingly and rarely | Over-frequent conditioning; soaking a stain through |
| The nappa and lambskin surfaces | Dry soft cloth, used with light pressure | Anything creamy or conditioning |
| Suede surfaces | Suede brush and eraser; professional cleaning where there are stains | Cream and soap, wet wipes, any water-based cleaner |
| Raffia and sisal, canvas and nylon | Spot-clean and blot; dry in the air | Immersion, solvents, hard scrubbing |
| Silk or satin | Keep dry, and leave cleaning to a professional | Any do-it-yourself cleaning |
Hardware, linings and the parts people forget
What needs protecting is the finish: palladium-plated hardware in a matte or brushed finish. Polish is designed to add shine, so it burnishes a deliberately soft surface into something that no longer matches the bag. A dry cloth on the buckles and feet is enough, and drying whenever they get wet, so moisture never sits in the join. Buckles and base feet on the Margaux are engraved, and dust settles into those recesses, and a soft brush clears it better than a cloth. Cotton herringbone linings, as used in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12, should be vacuumed out rather than washed. Because early attention turns a large repair into a small one, check the stitching at the handle roots occasionally.
Storing a bag between wears
Quiet deterioration is a storage problem, and it costs very little to fix. Use the dust bag it came with, with light stuffing so the shape holds and the sides do not stretch. Use acid-free tissue, or a soft cotton scarf; newspaper does not, because the ink transfers. Stand bags upright on a shelf rather than piling them under one another, since the silhouettes hold shape empty and give way under weight. A dark, dry, ventilated space is the aim, and no sealed plastic boxes, which trap humidity against leather. Because a resting bag recovers its form, rotating what you carry matters more than owners expect.
Knowing when to stop and call a specialist
Crossing the maintenance-to-restoration line at home is how good row handbags are ruined, and that line is clear enough. A leather specialist should take anything involving colour loss, ink, oil, water rings on suede or a stretched handle. Structural jobs fall on the same side of the line, from loose stitching at a stress point to a lining torn away from its seam. Because coated-canvas technique does not carry across, find out whether the specialist has handled unlogoed luxury calfskin. Expect a good one to test discreetly and to tell you when a mark cannot be lifted cleanly, because on untreated hide, some marks simply cannot be. One competent job costs less than the resale discount that follows a botched attempt at home.