How to Care for The Row Leather, Suede and Raffia Bags
The first thing you register about one of these bags is everything it leaves out. No logo plaque needs protecting, no coated canvas to wipe down, no bulky hardware soaking up the bumps. The trade is exposed surface: calfskin showing its grain, lambskin linings, suede that marks at the smallest provocation, and a summer raffia weave with no seal on it. With The Row bags the care burden falls almost entirely on the material rather than on some coating applied on top. Simple to look after, unforgiving when you get it wrong.
The guide below is arranged by material, because that is where the real decisions sit. A grained calfskin tote and a suede top handle from the same season need opposite treatment, and a sisal bag needs something different again.
First, an honest caveat about care instructions
No public care protocol exists for these bags, since The Row issues none. No manual exists, no cleaning chart is published, and no brand-approved product line is sold alongside them. Everything here is therefore material-appropriate general guidance, drawn from how calfskin, lambskin, suede, canvas and raffia behave rather than from any instructions the label has issued. Cautious, conservative and inclined to do less is how a good leather specialist works, and so should you. A definitive brand-issued cleaning routine for these bags does not exist, so anyone presenting one is filling a gap rather than quoting a source. Ask a professional before applying anything at all to a piece you care about.
The habits that matter more than any product
Routine handling causes most damage to a good bag, so the fixes are behavioural. Overfilling is the fastest way to distort a soft silhouette, and it is the error owners make most often with the Margaux and the Park Tote. The belted side ysl kate bag gussets on the Soft Margaux exist so you can adjust the shape, not for forcing more inside. Sunlight both dries and fades leather; radiators and car dashboards do it faster. People underrate what rain does to unfinished surfaces, and suede and raffia have almost no defence against it. Nothing on a shelf matches the effect of keeping a bag clear of sun, heat and water.
- Before storage, empty the bag completely, receipts and anything that can transfer colour included.
- Leave a soft bag hanging by its handles and the drop stretches, so keep it off the hook.
- A pouch keeps pens, keys and cosmetics off the lining.
- Clean hands before touching pale calfskin or untreated suede.
Calfskin in its four forms: smooth, grained, saddle and polished
Calfskin carries the line and it forgives more than anything else here. Scuffs and shine both show on smooth calfskin, matte grained calfskin covers them nicely, and polished saddle leather falls between the two. A soft dry cloth after use is the whole of routine care, worked with the grain, with 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. Too much conditioner darkens hide unevenly, leaves a tacky surface and softens structure you want to keep. Pale calfskin will also take dye from dark denim, so keep light-coloured bags away from indigo, and never scrub at a transferred mark, as scrubbing spreads it further.
Inside jobs: nappa and lambskin
These two appear more often as linings than exteriors, which changes how you protect them. Lambskin lines the Margaux Shoulder; the Bourse Clutch has a calfskin exterior and a nappa lining — so the softest material in the bag is the one your keys sit against. Both are exceptionally soft, both mark easily, and neither responds to being worked on. A dry soft cloth and nothing else is the correct answer, used lightly and rarely. Leave conditioner out of it completely, because the hides are already supple, and over-treatment leaves a greasy sheen that never comes out. Protection here means a pouch, not a product.
The line’s most demanding material is suede
A consistent premium attaches to suede at this label and calls for a matching increase in care. The gap is plain in observed 2026 market prices: 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. For the premium you get a nap that flattens, soaks up and stains faster than any finished hide. Suede care is mechanical rather than chemical, which is precisely what most owners fail to grasp. A dedicated suede brush, used gently in one direction, lifts the nap and clears surface dust, and that alone handles most routine wear. Anything wetter goes to a professional.
- Brush lightly after each wear, going with the nap instead of scrubbing against it.
- Natural drying at room temperature, no radiators or hairdryers, then a brush once it is fully dry.
- A suede eraser lifts dry marks, applied with minimal pressure.
- Do not attempt anything oily, coloured or set — it belongs with a leather specialist.
Leather cream, conditioner, wet wipes, soap and water-based cleaners are all banned from suede — a short list, and an absolute one. All of them either mat the nap or leave a ring that catches every light. The realistic standard is prevention, not repair, because regular brushing does more over a year than any treatment.
Raffia, sisal, canvas, nylon, silk and satin: what cannot be fixed
Know before you buy: these are the least serviceable materials the brand works with. Neither the sisal family nor the woven raffia and linen totes are tanned surfaces, so there is nothing to condition and no way to refinish a stained panel. Solvents and hard scrubbing distort the weave of canvas and nylon and leave a clean patch that reads as damage, despite how well both wear. On silk and satin, water and skin oils leave permanent marks, including the small evening bags and knotted crossbody shapes. For all of these, spot-cleaning with a barely damp cloth and quick blotting is the only home treatment worth trying. Prevention does all the work here, so keep them clear of rain and sunscreen.
| Surface | Routine care | Never do this |
|---|---|---|
| Calfskin, grained or smooth | Buff with a soft dry cloth; neutral conditioner used sparingly and rarely | Conditioning frequently, or soaking a stain |
| Lambskin and nappa | A dry soft cloth under light pressure | Any conditioner or cream |
| Suede surfaces | Suede brush and eraser; professional cleaning for stains | Creams, soap, wet wipes and water-based cleaners |
| Raffia, sisal, canvas, nylon | Spot-clean and blot; air-dry | Immersion, solvents, hard scrubbing |
| Satin and silk | Professional care only, and keep dry | Any do-it-yourself cleaning |
Hardware, linings and the bits people forget
Hardware here is palladium-plated, matte or brushed, and protecting that finish is the whole job. Polish is designed to add shine, so it burnishes a deliberately soft surface into something that no longer matches the bag. Buckles and feet want nothing more than a dry cloth, and drying whenever they get wet, so moisture never sits in the join. Engraved buckles and base feet on the Margaux trap dust in their recesses, and a soft brush clears it better than a cloth. Vacuum cotton herringbone linings, as found in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12, instead of washing them. Because catching a loose thread early costs a small repair instead of a large one, check the stitching at the handle roots occasionally.
Between wears: storage that works
Good bags deteriorate quietly in storage, and the fix is cheap. Put it back in the dust bag it arrived in, lightly stuffed so the shape holds without stretching the sides. Either acid-free tissue or a soft cotton scarf will do the job, though never newspaper, whose ink transfers. Because these silhouettes hold their shape when empty and lose it under weight, keep them upright on a shelf and never stacked under others. A dark, dry, ventilated space is the aim, and no sealed plastic boxes, which trap humidity against leather. Because form comes back to a bag that rests, rotating what you carry does more good than owners realise.
When to hand it to a professional
Maintenance and restoration are divided by a clear line, and crossing it at home is how good row handbags get ruined. A leather specialist should take anything involving colour loss, ink, oil, water rings on suede or a stretched handle. Structural work belongs there too: loose stitching at a stress point, a lining torn away from its seam. Ask whether the specialist has handled unlogoed luxury calfskin, since techniques built for coated canvas do not transfer. Expect a good one to test discreetly and to tell you when a mark cannot be lifted cleanly, because some marks on untreated hide never will be. A botched attempt at home leaves a resale discount larger than the cost of one competent intervention.