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Keeping The Row Leather, Suede and Raffia Bags in Good Order
The first thing you register about one of these bags is everything it leaves out. There is no logo plaque to protect, no coated canvas to wipe down, no bulky hardware soaking up the bumps. What you have instead is a lot of exposed surface: calfskin wearing its grain openly, lambskin linings, suede that marks at almost nothing, and in summer an unsealed raffia weave. The material, not a finish laid over it, carries almost the whole care burden of The Row bags. Easy to maintain, and unforgiving of an error.
This guide is organised 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 wants something different again.
The caveat that has to come first
Nothing resembling a public care protocol has been issued, because The Row does not publish one. There is neither a manual nor a published cleaning chart, and no brand-approved products are sold with them. Everything below is therefore material-appropriate general guidance, taken from the behaviour of calfskin, lambskin, suede, canvas and raffia rather than from instructions issued by the label. Cautious, conservative and inclined to do less is how a good leather specialist works, which is the right posture here. No definitive brand-issued cleaning routine exists for these bags, so anyone presenting 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
Everyday handling is where most damage to a good bag starts, which makes the fixes behavioural. Overfilling distorts a soft silhouette faster than anything else, and it is the mistake owners make 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. Sun dries leather out and fades it; radiators and car dashboards do it faster. On unfinished surfaces, rain does more damage than most people expect, and suede and raffia have next to no defence against it. Keeping a bag out of sun, https://laurentoutlet.com/handbags/ 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.
- Leave a soft bag hanging by its handles and the drop stretches, so keep it off the hook.
- Keep pens, keys and cosmetics in a pouch rather than loose against the lining.
- Wash your hands before handling pale calfskin or untreated suede.
Calfskin: smooth, grained, saddle and polished
Calfskin is the backbone of the line and it is 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. Neutral conditioner can go on sparingly and infrequently, with a test on a hidden panel first, and the emphasis sits on both of those words. An over-conditioned hide darkens unevenly, turns tacky and loses the structure you want to keep. Dark denim also transfers dye onto pale calfskin, so keep pale bags clear of indigo, and never scrub at a transferred mark, as scrubbing spreads it further.
Nappa and lambskin, usually found inside
These two appear more often as linings than exteriors, which alters how protection works. 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. A soft dry cloth, applied lightly and rarely, is the whole treatment. 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 is consistently the more expensive choice here, and it demands 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 premium buys a nap that flattens, absorbs and stains more readily than any finished hide. The point most owners miss is simple: suede care is mechanical rather than chemical. Most routine wear is handled by a dedicated suede brush alone, worked gently in one direction so it lifts the nap and clears surface dust. Anything wetter than that belongs to a professional.
- Brush lightly after each wear, following the nap rather than scrubbing across it.
- Natural drying at room temperature, no radiators or hairdryers, then a brush once it is fully dry.
- Dry marks come away with a suede eraser, used with as little pressure as possible.
- Leave anything oily, coloured or set alone — it belongs with a leather specialist.
Never put leather cream, conditioner, wet wipes, soap or a water-based cleaner on suede — a short list, and an absolute one. All of them either mat the nap or leave a ring that catches every light. Prevention rather than repair is the realistic standard here, since regular brushing outperforms any treatment across a year.
The unserviceable materials: raffia, sisal, canvas, nylon, silk and satin
Of everything the brand uses, these are the least serviceable, and they ought to be bought with that in mind. Neither the sisal family nor the woven raffia and linen totes are tanned surfaces, so nothing can be conditioned and no stained panel can be refinished. 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. On silk and satin, water and skin oils leave permanent marks, including the small evening bags and knotted crossbody shapes. On every one of these, spot-cleaning with a barely damp cloth and prompt blotting is as far as home treatment should go. Because there is no repair to fall back on, rain and sunscreen are the two things to avoid completely.
| The material | Everyday care | Never do this |
|---|---|---|
| Smooth and grained calfskin | Soft dry cloth; neutral conditioner, sparingly and rarely | Regular conditioning; soaking a mark |
| Nappa and lambskin | A dry, soft cloth, used with light pressure | Conditioner or cream of any kind |
| Suede | Suede brush plus eraser; stains go to a professional | Creams, soap, wet wipes and water-based cleaners |
| The raffia, sisal, canvas and nylon pieces | Spot-clean and blot; dry in the air | Immersion, solvents, hard scrubbing |
| The silk and satin pieces | Keep dry, and leave cleaning to a professional | Home cleaning of any kind |
Hardware, linings and the bits people forget
The finish is what you are protecting: 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. Give buckles and feet a wipe with a dry cloth, and dry them off if they get wet, so moisture does not sit in the join. On the Margaux the buckles and base feet are engraved, and dust settles into those recesses, and a soft brush clears it better than a cloth. The cotton herringbone linings in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12 should be vacuumed out, never washed. Inspect the stitching at the handle roots from time to time, because a loose thread caught early costs a small repair rather than a large one.
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, lightly stuffed so the shape holds without stretching the sides. Acid-free tissue works, as does a soft cotton scarf; newspaper will not do, as the 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. Keep the storage space dark, dry and ventilated, and steer clear of sealed plastic boxes, which trap humidity against leather. Rotating what you carry matters more than owners expect, because time off lets a bag recover its form.
When to hand the bag to a professional
Maintenance and restoration are divided by a clear line, and crossing it at home is how good row handbags get ruined. Send colour loss, ink, oil, water rings on suede and stretched handles to a leather specialist. The same goes for structural work, loose stitching at a stress point or a lining torn away from its seam included. Because techniques built for coated canvas do not transfer, ask whether the specialist has handled unlogoed luxury calfskin. Expect discreet testing, and honesty about any mark that cannot be lifted cleanly, because on untreated hide some cannot. A botched attempt at home leaves a resale discount larger than the cost of one competent intervention.