Looking After The Row Leather, Suede and Raffia Bags
Buy one of these bags and you quickly notice what is missing. No logo plaque needs protecting, no coated canvas asking to be wiped down, no weight of hardware absorbing the knocks. What you have instead is a lot of exposed surface: calfskin wearing its grain openly, lambskin linings, suede that takes a mark from a glance, and in summer a raffia weave with nothing sealing it. The care burden of The Row bags sits almost entirely on the material rather than on some coating applied on top. The result is a bag that is simple to maintain and merciless when you get it wrong.
This guide is organised by material, because that is how the decisions really divide. Take a grained calfskin tote and a suede top handle from the same season and they need opposite handling, and a sisal bag wants something different again.
A necessary caveat on care instructions
The Row issues no public care protocol for its bags. No manual exists, no cleaning chart is published, and no brand-approved product line is sold alongside 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. Cautious, conservative and inclined to do less is how a good leather specialist works, and so should you. No definitive brand-issued cleaning routine exists for these bags, 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.
What you do matters more than what you buy
Most of what ruins a good bag is routine handling, and 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. The belted side gussets on the Soft Margaux adjust the shape, and are not a licence to force more in. Sun dries leather out and fades it; 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 the row bag mini shoulder bags bag away from sun, heat and water covers more ground than any product on a shelf.
- Take everything out before you store it, receipts and anything else that might transfer colour included.
- Never leave a soft bag hanging by its handles for long, because the handle drop will stretch.
- Corral pens, keys and cosmetics into a pouch rather than leaving them loose against the lining.
- Wash your hands before handling pale calfskin or untreated suede.
Smooth, grained, saddle and polished calfskin
The most forgiving material in the line is also its backbone. Scuffs and shine both show on smooth calfskin, matte grained calfskin covers them nicely, and polished saddle leather lands somewhere in between. A soft dry cloth after use is the whole of routine care, used with the grain and concentrated on the corners and base where dirt collects. Sparingly and infrequently are the operative words for a neutral conditioner, tested first on a hidden panel. Darkening, tackiness and lost structure are what over-conditioning buys you. Pale calfskin also picks up dye from dark denim, so keep pale bags clear of indigo, and never scrub a transferred mark, since scrubbing spreads it.
Nappa and lambskin, usually found inside
These two appear more often as linings than exteriors, which changes the way you protect them. Lambskin lines the Margaux Shoulder; the Bourse Clutch has a calfskin exterior and a nappa lining — which puts the softest material in the bag right where your keys sit. Both mark easily, both are exceptionally soft, and neither rewards any attempt to work on it. The correct answer is a dry soft cloth, nothing more, applied lightly and rarely. Skip conditioner entirely, because they are supple to begin with, and over-treatment leaves a greasy sheen you cannot remove. The real protection is a pouch inside the bag rather than a product applied to it.
Suede: the most demanding material in the line
Suede commands a consistent premium at this label and earns a matching increase in care. Observed 2026 market prices spell the gap out: India 10.00 is $3,850 in leather and $5,370 in suede, while Agnes 15 goes $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 is cared for mechanically, not chemically. A dedicated suede brush covers most routine wear on its own, used gently in one direction to lift the nap and clear surface dust. Beyond that, hand it to a professional.
- Give it a light brush after each wear, going with the nap instead of scrubbing against it.
- Dry a wet bag naturally at room temperature, clear of radiators and hairdryers, and brush only when it is fully dry.
- Lift dry marks with a suede eraser using minimal pressure.
- Pass anything oily, coloured or set to a leather specialist rather than trying it yourself.
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. The realistic standard is prevention, not repair, because regular brushing does more over a year than any treatment.
The unserviceable materials: raffia, sisal, canvas, nylon, silk and satin
Of everything the brand uses, these are the least serviceable, and buy them knowing it. Because these 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 pulls the weave out of shape 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. Across all of them, the only home treatment worth attempting is spot-cleaning with a barely damp cloth and quick blotting. Here, prevention carries everything, so keep them clear of rain and sunscreen.
| Surface | Routine care | Avoid entirely |
|---|---|---|
| Smooth and grained calfskin | Soft dry cloth as standard, with neutral conditioner only sparingly and rarely | Over-frequent conditioning; soaking a stain through |
| The nappa and lambskin surfaces | A dry, soft cloth, light pressure | Any conditioner or cream |
| Suede surfaces | Suede brush plus eraser; stains go to a professional | Creams, soap, wet wipes and water-based cleaners |
| Raffia and sisal, canvas and nylon | A spot-clean with prompt blotting, then air drying | Soaking, solvents and hard scrubbing |
| Satin and silk | Keep dry, and leave cleaning to a professional | Any home cleaning attempt |
The parts people forget: hardware and linings
The hardware is palladium-plated with a matte or brushed finish, and protecting that finish is the whole job. 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. Wipe buckles and feet with a dry cloth, and dry them off if they get wet, so moisture does not sit in the join. Engraved buckles and base feet on the Margaux trap dust in their recesses, which a soft brush lifts far better than a cloth. Cotton herringbone linings, as used in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12, should be vacuumed out rather than washed. Inspect the stitching at the handle roots from time to time, because spotting a loose thread early turns a large repair into a small one.
Storage between wears
Most quiet deterioration happens in storage, and the fix is cheap. Put it back in the dust bag it arrived in, stuffed lightly so the shape holds without stretching the sides. Either acid-free tissue or a soft cotton scarf will do the job, but not newspaper, because the ink transfers. Store bags upright on a shelf rather than stacked under others, since these silhouettes keep their shape empty and lose it under weight. Keep the space dark, dry and ventilated, and avoid sealed plastic boxes, since they 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 the bag to a professional
There is a clear line between maintenance and restoration, and crossing it at home is how good row handbags end up ruined. If it involves colour loss, ink, oil, water rings on suede or a stretched handle, it belongs with a leather specialist. Structural work belongs there too: loose stitching at a stress point, a lining torn away from its seam. Because techniques built for coated canvas do not transfer, 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. One competent intervention costs less than the resale discount left by a botched attempt at home.
