Maintaining The Row Leather, Suede and Raffia Bags in Good Order
Buy one of these bags and you quickly notice what is missing. There is no logo plaque in the way, no coated canvas to wipe down, no heavy hardware taking the knocks. What is left is a lot of bare surface: calfskin that shows its grain, lambskin linings, suede that takes a mark from a glance, and in summer a raffia weave left entirely unsealed. The material, not a finish laid over it, carries almost the whole care burden of The Row bags. Simple to look after, unforgiving when you get it wrong.
This guide is organised by material, because that is how the decisions actually break down. A grained calfskin tote and a suede top handle from the same season need opposite treatment, and a sisal bag needs something 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. Everything below is therefore material-appropriate general guidance, based on how calfskin, lambskin, suede, canvas and raffia actually behave rather than from instructions issued by the label. Cautious, conservative and inclined to do less is how a good leather specialist https://rowhandbags.com/top-handle/ 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. Ask a professional before applying anything at all to a piece you care about.
The routine that matters more than anything on a shelf
Most of what ruins a good bag is routine handling, and the remedies are behavioural rather than chemical. With the Margaux and the Park Tote in particular, overfilling is the usual mistake, which is also the fastest way to distort a soft silhouette. The belted side gussets on the Soft Margaux adjust the shape, not making room for more. Leather dries and fades in sunlight, with radiators and car dashboards accelerating both. On unfinished surfaces, rain does more damage than most people expect, and neither suede nor raffia has much defence against it. No product on a shelf covers as much ground as simply keeping a bag away from sun, heat and water.
- Take everything out before you store it, receipts included, along with anything that can transfer colour.
- Avoid hanging a soft bag by its handles for any length of time, because the drop will stretch.
- Keep pens, keys and cosmetics in a pouch rather than letting them sit loose against the lining.
- Wash your hands before handling pale calfskin or untreated suede.
Calfskin in its four forms: smooth, grained, saddle and polished
Calfskin is the backbone of the line and the most forgiving material in it. Smooth calfskin shows scuffs and shine, matte grained calfskin conceals them well, and polished saddle leather lands somewhere in between. Routine care stops at a soft dry cloth after use, 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. Over-conditioning leaves hide unevenly darkened, creates a tacky surface and takes out structure you wanted. Because dye moves from dark denim onto pale calfskin, keep light bags away from indigo and never scrub a transferred mark, since scrubbing spreads it.
Nappa and lambskin, mostly on the inside
These two appear more often as linings than exteriors, which changes the way you protect them. The Margaux Shoulder is lined in lambskin 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. Both mark easily, both are exceptionally soft, and neither rewards any attempt to work on it. A dry soft cloth and nothing else is the correct answer, used lightly and rarely. Because the hides are supple as they are, conditioner should be avoided altogether, since over-treatment leaves a greasy sheen that will not come out. The protection that works is a pouch inside the bag, never something rubbed onto it.
Suede: the most demanding material in the line
Suede commands a consistent premium at this label and comes with a matching increase in care. The gap is plain in observed 2026 market prices: 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. Suede care is a mechanical business rather than a chemical one, which is the thing 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. Past dry brushing, it is a professional’s job.
- After each wear, brush lightly along the nap, never scrubbing across it.
- Allow a wet bag to dry naturally at room temperature, well away from radiators and hairdryers, then brush it once it has dried completely.
- Dry marks come away with a suede eraser, used with as little pressure as possible.
- Leave anything oily, coloured or set alone — send it to 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. Each of those mats the nap or leaves a ring that shows 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
Of everything the brand uses, these are the least serviceable, and they ought to be bought with that in mind. The sisal family, along with the woven raffia and linen totes, are not tanned surfaces, so nothing can be conditioned and no stained panel can be refinished. Hard scrubbing and solvents will distort the weave and leave a clean patch that reads as damage, despite how well both wear. Permanent marking from water and skin oils is the risk on silk and satin, the small evening bags and knotted crossbody shapes included. Spot-clean with a barely damp cloth and blot quickly — that is the only home treatment worth trying on any of them. Because there is no repair to fall back on, keep them out of the rain and away from sunscreen.
| The material | Regular routine | Never |
|---|---|---|
| Grained and smooth calfskin | Soft dry cloth as standard, with neutral conditioner only sparingly and rarely | Conditioning too often; drenching a stain |
| Nappa or lambskin | Soft cloth, dry, used with light pressure | Any conditioner or cream |
| Suede nap | A suede brush and eraser; professional cleaning where there are stains | Creams, soap, wet wipes and water-based cleaners |
| Raffia and sisal, canvas and nylon | Spot-clean, then blot; dry in the air | Immersion, solvents, hard scrubbing |
| Satin and silk | A professional; keep it dry | Any do-it-yourself cleaning |
Hardware and linings, the overlooked parts
The finish is what you are protecting: palladium-plated hardware in a matte or brushed finish. Metal polish has no place here: made for shine, it burnishes a deliberately soft finish into something that no longer matches the bag. Give buckles and feet a wipe with a dry cloth, and dry them whenever they get wet, keeping moisture out of 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. The cotton herringbone linings in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12 should be vacuumed out, never washed. Look at the stitching where the handles meet the body every so often, because a loose thread caught early costs a small repair rather than a large one.
Between wears: storage that works
Most quiet deterioration happens in storage, and the fix is cheap. The dust bag it came with is the right home, with just enough stuffing to hold the shape and not stretch the sides. Acid-free tissue and soft cotton scarves both work, but not newspaper, because 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. A dark, dry, ventilated space is the aim, with no sealed plastic boxes to 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
Maintenance and restoration are divided by a clear line, and crossing it at home is how good row handbags end up 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. Ask whether the specialist has handled unlogoed luxury calfskin, since methods built for coated canvas do not carry over. 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. One competent intervention costs less than the resale discount left by a botched attempt at home.
