Maintaining The Row Leather, Suede and Raffia Bags the Right Way
The first thing you register about one of these bags is everything it leaves out. Nothing to protect: no logo plaque, no coated canvas to wipe down, no heavy hardware taking the knocks. What you get in exchange is exposed surface: calfskin that shows its grain, lambskin linings, suede that marks if you look at it wrongly, and in summer a raffia weave with nothing sealing it. With The Row bags the care burden falls almost entirely on the material rather than on any finish laid over it. That makes them simple to look after and unforgiving when you get it wrong.
What follows is organised material 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, while a sisal bag is different again.
The caveat that has to come 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. This is material-appropriate general guidance, drawn from how calfskin, lambskin, suede, canvas and raffia behave rather than from instructions issued by the label. Approach it the way a good leather specialist does: cautious, conservative and biased toward doing less. Anyone offering a definitive brand-issued cleaning routine for these bags is filling a gap, not quoting a source. Where the piece matters to you, ask a professional before you apply anything at all.
Habits that matter more than any product
Routine handling causes most damage to a good bag, so the fixes are behavioural. The most common mistake, especially with the Margaux and the Park Tote, is overfilling, and it distorts a soft silhouette faster than anything. Those belted side gussets on the Soft Margaux are for adjusting the shape, not for cramming more in. Sunlight both dries luxury handbags and fades leather; radiators and car dashboards do it quicker still. Rain does more harm than people assume on unfinished surfaces, and neither suede nor raffia has much defence against it. Keeping a bag away from sun, heat and water covers more ground than any product on a shelf.
- Nothing stays in a stored bag, least of all receipts or anything that can transfer colour.
- 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
The most forgiving material in the line is also its backbone. Scuffs and shine show on smooth calfskin and hide well on matte grained calfskin, with polished saddle leather between the two. Routine care is a buff with a soft dry cloth after use, going with the grain and concentrating on the corners and base, where dirt gathers. Sparingly and infrequently are the operative words for a neutral conditioner, tested first on a hidden panel. Too much conditioner darkens hide unevenly, leaves a tacky surface and softens structure you want to keep. Dark denim also transfers dye onto pale calfskin, so keep light-coloured bags away from indigo, and never scrub a transferred mark, since scrubbing spreads it.
Nappa and lambskin: linings more than exteriors
Because they appear more often as linings than exteriors, the approach to protecting them changes. The Margaux Shoulder is lined in lambskin and the Bourse Clutch puts a nappa lining inside a calfskin exterior, so the softest material in the bag is exactly what your keys rest on. Each is exceptionally soft, each marks easily, and neither one responds to being worked on. Use a dry soft cloth, lightly and rarely. Because the hides are supple as they are, avoid conditioner completely: over-treatment leaves a greasy sheen that will not come out. Real protection is a pouch inside the bag, not a product applied to it.
Suede: where the care burden peaks
Suede carries a consistent premium at this label and calls for a matching increase in care. The observed 2026 market prices make the gap plain: India 10.00 runs $3,850 in leather and $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. Most owners miss the key point: suede care is mechanical rather than chemical. Used gently and in one direction, a dedicated suede brush lifts the nap and takes off 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, following the nap rather than scrubbing across it.
- Dry a wet bag naturally at room temperature, clear of radiators and hairdryers, and brush only when it is fully dry.
- Dry marks come away with a suede eraser, used with as little pressure as possible.
- Send anything oily, coloured or set to a leather specialist rather than attempting it yourself.
Leather cream, conditioner, wet wipes, soap and water-based cleaners are all banned from suede — a short list, and an absolute one. Every one of them mats the nap or leaves a ring visible in every light. Prevention rather than repair is the realistic standard here, since regular brushing outperforms any treatment across a year.
Raffia, sisal, canvas, nylon, silk and satin
These are the least serviceable materials in the brand’s range, and buy them knowing it. The sisal family and the woven raffia and linen totes are not tanned surfaces, so there is nothing to condition, and no way to refinish a stained panel. Hard scrubbing and solvents will distort the weave and leave a clean patch that reads as damage, despite how well both wear. Silk and satin pieces — the small evening bags and knotted crossbody shapes among them — mark permanently from water and skin oils. Across all of them, the only home treatment worth attempting is spot-cleaning with a barely damp cloth and quick blotting. Because there is no repair to fall back on, rain and sunscreen are the two things to avoid completely.
| Material | Routine care | What to never do |
|---|---|---|
| Calfskin in grained and smooth form | Soft dry cloth as standard, with neutral conditioner only sparingly and rarely | Regular conditioning; soaking a stain |
| Nappa and lambskin | A dry soft cloth under light pressure | Anything creamy or conditioning |
| Suede nap | Suede brush and eraser; professional cleaning for stains | Cream, soap, wet wipes, water-based cleaners |
| Raffia and sisal, canvas and nylon | Spot-clean, blot, and let it air dry | Dunking, solvents, or scrubbing hard |
| Satin and silk | Keep dry, and leave cleaning to a professional | Any home cleaning attempt |
Hardware, linings and the bits people forget
Hardware here is palladium-plated, matte or brushed, and protecting that finish is the whole job. Keep metal polish away from it: it is made for shine and will burnish a deliberately soft surface into something that no longer matches the bag. Clean buckles and feet with a dry cloth, and dry them whenever they get wet, keeping moisture out of the join. The Margaux has engraved buckles and base feet, and those recesses trap dust that a soft brush clears better than a cloth. Vacuum rather than wash the cotton herringbone linings used in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12. Look at the stitching where the handles meet the body every so often, because spotting a loose thread early turns a large repair into a small one.
Storage between wears
Quiet deterioration is a storage problem, and it costs very little to fix. Store it in its own dust bag, with just enough stuffing to hold the shape and not stretch the sides. Acid-free tissue and soft cotton scarves both work, 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, with no sealed plastic boxes to trap humidity against leather. Rotating what you carry counts for more than owners expect, because time off lets a bag recover its form.
When to hand the bag to a professional
Crossing the maintenance-to-restoration line at home is how good row handbags are ruined, and that line is clear enough. If it involves colour loss, ink, oil, water rings on suede or a stretched handle, it belongs with a leather specialist. Structural work is the same, from loose stitching at a stress point to a lining torn away from its seam. Ask whether the specialist has handled unlogoed luxury calfskin, since what works on coated canvas does not transfer. The right specialist tests discreetly and says plainly when a mark will not come out cleanly, since on untreated hide some cannot be lifted. One competent intervention costs less than the resale discount left by a botched attempt at home.
