Keeping The Row Leather, Suede and Raffia Bags the Right Way
What you notice first about one of these bags is what it does not have. No logo plaque needs protecting, no coated canvas asking to be wiped down, no heavy hardware taking the knocks. Instead you have a great deal of exposed surface: calfskin that shows its grain, lambskin linings, suede that takes a mark from a glance, and in summer an unsealed raffia weave. Almost all of the care burden of The Row bags belongs to the material itself. That leaves them simple to look after, and unforgiving of mistakes.
The guide below is arranged by material, because that is how the decisions really divide. Opposite treatment goes to a grained calfskin tote and a suede top handle from the same season, with a sisal bag different again.
An honest caveat about care instructions, first
There is no public care protocol issued by The Row for its bags. There is neither a manual nor a published cleaning chart, and no brand-approved products are sold with them. Treat all of it as material-appropriate general guidance, drawn from how calfskin, lambskin, suede, canvas and raffia behave rather than from instructions issued by the label. Treat it the way a good leather specialist would: carefully, conservatively, always leaning toward doing less. Anyone offering a definitive brand-issued cleaning routine for these bags is filling a gap, not quoting a source. Ask the row a professional before applying anything at all to a piece you care about.
The habits that matter more than any product
The bulk of the damage to a good bag comes from routine handling, and the fixes are all behavioural. Overfilling is the fastest way to distort a soft silhouette, and owners make it most often with the Margaux and the Park Tote. The belted side gussets on the Soft Margaux exist so you can adjust the shape, not for cramming more in. Sunlight dries and fades leather; radiators and car dashboards do it quicker still. Unfinished surfaces suffer more from rain than people expect, and suede and raffia are close to defenceless. Keeping a bag out of sun, heat and water achieves more than any product on a shelf.
- Empty the bag before storing it, receipts and anything else that might transfer colour included.
- Hanging a soft bag by its handles for long stretches will stretch the drop, so keep it off the hook.
- Keep pens, keys and cosmetics in a pouch rather than loose against the lining.
- Handle pale calfskin and untreated suede only with washed hands.
Smooth, grained, saddle and polished calfskin
The backbone of the line, calfskin, is also the most forgiving material in it. Smooth calfskin shows scuffs and shine, matte grained calfskin hides them well, and polished saddle leather lands somewhere in between. Routine care means buffing 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, creates a tacky surface and takes out structure you wanted. Dark denim also transfers dye onto pale calfskin, 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
These two turn up more often as linings than as exteriors, which changes how you protect them. Lambskin lines the Margaux Shoulder 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. Exceptional softness, easy marking, and no tolerance for being worked on describe both. A dry soft cloth and nothing else is the correct answer, applied lightly and rarely. Skip conditioner entirely, because these hides are already supple and over-treatment leaves a greasy sheen that will not come out. The real protection is a pouch inside the bag rather than a product applied to it.
Suede: where the care burden peaks
At this label suede is consistently dearer, and it demands a matching increase in care. 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. That premium buys nap — which flattens, absorbs and stains more readily than any finished hide. Suede care is mechanical rather than chemical, which is the point most owners miss. A dedicated suede brush, worked gently in a single direction, raises the nap and clears surface dust, and and that on its own covers most routine wear. Anything wetter than that is a job for a professional.
- Give it a light brush after each wear, working with the nap rather than scrubbing across it.
- Let a wet bag 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.
- Leave anything oily, coloured or set alone — 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. Matted nap or a ring that shows in every light is the result. Regular brushing does more over a year than any treatment, which makes the realistic standard prevention rather than repair.
Raffia, sisal, canvas, nylon, silk and satin
Of everything the brand uses, these are the least serviceable, and buy them knowing it. 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 wear well, though solvents and hard scrubbing do them no favours, which pulls the weave out of shape and leaves a clean patch that reads as damage. Silk and satin pieces — the small evening bags and knotted crossbody shapes among them — mark permanently from water and skin oils. On every one of these, spot-cleaning with a barely damp cloth and prompt blotting is as far as home treatment should go. Prevention does all the work here, so keep them dry and well away from sunscreen.
| Surface | Everyday care | Avoid entirely |
|---|---|---|
| Calfskin, grained or smooth | Buff with a soft dry cloth; neutral conditioner used sparingly and rarely | Conditioning too often; drenching a stain |
| The nappa and lambskin surfaces | Soft cloth, dry, used with light pressure | Any conditioner or cream |
| Suede nap | Brush and eraser made for suede, with stains sent to a professional | Anything wet: soap, wet wipes, water-based cleaners, and cream too |
| Raffia, sisal, canvas, nylon | A spot-clean with prompt blotting, then air drying | Immersion, solvents, hard scrubbing |
| The silk and satin pieces | Professional care; keep them dry | Any do-it-yourself cleaning |
Hardware and linings, the overlooked parts
What needs protecting is the finish: the hardware is palladium-plated with a matte or brushed surface. Metal polish has no place here: it is made for shine and will burnish 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 rather than wash the cotton herringbone linings used in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12. 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
Storage is where good bags quietly deteriorate, and the remedy is cheap. Put it back in the dust bag it arrived in, with light stuffing so the shape holds and the sides do not stretch. Acid-free tissue and soft cotton scarves both work, though never newspaper, whose ink transfers. Because shape survives emptiness but not 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 matters more than owners expect.
The point at which it goes to a specialist
A clear line separates maintenance from restoration, and crossing that line at home is precisely 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. The same goes for structural work, loose stitching at a stress point or a lining torn away from its seam included. Because coated-canvas technique does not carry across, find out whether the specialist has handled unlogoed luxury calfskin. Discreet testing and an honest answer are what a good specialist offers, since on untreated hide some cannot be lifted. The resale discount from a botched home attempt outweighs the price of one competent intervention.