The Row Bag Care: Leather, Suede and Raffia

The first thing you register about one of these bags is everything it leaves out. There is no logo plaque in the way, no coated canvas to wipe down, no weight of hardware absorbing 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. With The Row bags the care burden falls almost entirely on the material rather than on any finish laid over it. That leaves them simple to look after, and unforgiving of mistakes.

The organising principle is material, because that is how the decisions actually break down. The same season can give you a grained calfskin tote and a suede top handle that need opposite treatment, while a sisal bag is different again.

First, an honest caveat about care instructions

There is no public care protocol issued by The Row for its bags. There is no manual, no published cleaning chart and no brand-approved product line sold alongside them. Everything here 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. A good leather specialist would be cautious, conservative and biased toward doing less, which is the right posture here. A definitive brand-issued cleaning routine for these bags does not exist, 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.

Why habits outrank products

Most damage to a good bag comes from routine handling, and the remedies are behavioural rather than chemical. Overfilling is the fastest way to distort a soft silhouette, and owners make it most often with the Margaux and the Park Tote. Adjusting the shape is what the belted side gussets on the Soft Margaux are for, not making room for more. Leather dries and fades in sunlight, with radiators and car dashboards accelerating both. People underrate what rain does to unfinished surfaces, and suede and raffia are close to defenceless. Nothing on a shelf matches the effect of keeping a bag clear of sun, heat and water.

• Empty the bag out before it goes into storage, receipts included, the row bags tan top handle along with anything that can transfer colour.
• Hanging a soft bag by its handles for long stretches will stretch the drop, so keep it off the hook.
• Put pens, keys and cosmetics in a pouch rather than letting them sit loose against the lining.
• Pale calfskin and untreated suede want clean hands.

Calfskin: smooth, grained, saddle and polished

Calfskin is the spine 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 falls between the two. Routine care stops at a soft dry cloth after use, used with the grain and concentrated on the corners and base where dirt collects. Neutral conditioner is fine sparingly and infrequently, and both words matter, tested first on a hidden panel. Too much conditioner darkens hide unevenly, leaves a tacky surface and softens structure you want to keep. 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: linings more than exteriors

These two turn up more often as linings than as exteriors, which changes the way you protect them. Lambskin lines the Margaux Shoulder and the Bourse Clutch pairs a calfskin exterior with a nappa lining, 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. A dry soft cloth and nothing else is the correct answer, and used lightly, and rarely. Because these hides are already supple, conditioner should be avoided altogether, since over-treatment leaves a greasy sheen that will not come out. Protection here means a pouch, not a product.

The line’s most demanding material is suede

At this label suede is consistently dearer, 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. For the premium you get a nap that flattens, soaks up and stains faster than any finished hide. The point most owners miss is simple: 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 that alone handles most routine wear. Past dry brushing, it is a professional’s job.

1. Brush gently after every wear, working with the nap rather than scrubbing across it.
2. Let a wet bag dry naturally at room temperature, nowhere near a radiator or hairdryer, then brush once it is fully dry.
3. Dry marks come away with a suede eraser, applied with minimal pressure.
4. Do not attempt anything oily, coloured or set — send it to a leather specialist.

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. What you get is a matted nap, or 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 and sisal, canvas and nylon, silk and satin

These are the least serviceable materials the brand uses, and they ought to be bought with that in mind. Because these 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. On silk and satin, water and skin oils leave permanent marks, 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. Prevention carries the entire load here, so keep them out of the rain and away from sunscreen.

The parts people forget: hardware and linings

The finish is what you are protecting: palladium-plated hardware in a matte or brushed finish. Metal polish 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 whenever they get wet, keeping moisture out of the join. Buckles and base feet on the Margaux are engraved, and those recesses trap dust that a soft brush clears better than a cloth. The cotton herringbone linings in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12 should be vacuumed out, never washed. Because catching a loose thread early costs a small repair instead of a large one, check the stitching at the handle roots occasionally.

Storing a bag between wears

Most quiet deterioration happens in storage, 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 or a soft cotton scarf works; newspaper does not, because the ink transfers. Store bags upright on a shelf rather than stacked under others, since these silhouettes hold their shape when empty and lose it under weight. Keep the space dark, dry and ventilated, and avoid sealed plastic boxes that 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 it to a professional

Good row handbags get ruined when the line between maintenance and restoration is crossed at home, and that line is clear enough. Send colour loss, ink, oil, water rings on suede and stretched handles to 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. The resale discount from a botched home attempt outweighs the price of one competent intervention.