Maintaining The Row Leather, Suede and Raffia Bags the Right Way

Buy one of these bags and what is absent registers fast. No logo plaque needs protecting, no coated canvas to sponge off, no heavy hardware taking the knocks. What you get in exchange is exposed surface: calfskin showing its grain, lambskin linings, suede that marks at the smallest provocation, and a summer raffia weave with no seal on it. The material, not a finish laid over it, carries almost the whole care burden of The Row bags. The result is a bag that is simple to maintain and merciless when you get it wrong.

The organising principle is material, since the decisions genuinely break down that way. Take a grained calfskin tote and a suede top handle from the same season and they need opposite handling, and a sisal bag needs something different again.

First, an honest caveat about care instructions

Nothing resembling a public care protocol has been issued, since The Row issues none. You will find no manual, no published cleaning chart and no brand-approved product line sold with them. Treat all of it as material-appropriate general guidance, built on how calfskin, lambskin, suede, canvas and raffia behave, not on 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. Anyone offering a definitive brand-issued cleaning routine for these bags is filling a gap, not 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

Routine handling causes most damage to a good bag, so the fixes are behavioural. Nothing distorts a soft silhouette faster than overfilling, and owners make it most often with the Margaux and the Park Tote. Those belted side gussets on the Soft Margaux are for adjusting the shape, not designer tote bags so you can force more into it. Sunlight both dries and fades leather; 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. 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, including receipts and anything that can transfer colour.
• Hanging a soft bag by its handles for long stretches will stretch the drop, so do not do it.
• Corral pens, keys and cosmetics into a pouch rather than leaving them loose against the lining.
• Handle pale calfskin and untreated suede only with washed hands.

Smooth, grained, saddle and polished calfskin

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. Day-to-day care amounts to buffing with a soft dry cloth after use, working with the grain and paying attention to the corners and base where dirt collects. A neutral conditioner may be used sparingly and infrequently, with a test on a hidden panel first, and the emphasis sits on both of those words. Darkening, tackiness and lost structure are what over-conditioning buys you. 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, usually found inside

These two turn up more often as linings than as exteriors, which changes how you protect them. Lambskin lines the Margaux Shoulder; the Bourse Clutch has a calfskin exterior and 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. The correct answer is a dry soft cloth, nothing more, and used lightly, and rarely. Skip conditioner entirely, because these hides are already supple and 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, the most demanding material in the line

At this label suede is consistently dearer, and it demands 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 is $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. 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.

1. Brush lightly after each wear, going with the nap instead of scrubbing against it.
2. Dry a wet bag naturally at room temperature, clear of radiators and hairdryers, and brush only when it is fully dry.
3. A suede eraser lifts dry marks, applied with minimal pressure.
4. Pass anything oily, coloured or set to a leather specialist rather than trying it yourself.

Never put leather cream, conditioner, wet wipes, soap or a water-based cleaner on suede — the list is short and absolute. What you get is a matted nap, or a ring that shows in every light. Regular brushing does more over a year than any treatment, which makes prevention rather than repair the realistic standard.

The unserviceable materials: raffia, sisal, canvas, nylon, silk and satin

These are the least serviceable materials the brand uses, and they should be bought with that understood. Because the sisal family and the woven raffia and linen totes are not tanned surfaces, conditioning is meaningless and a stained panel cannot be refinished. Solvents and hard scrubbing distort the weave of canvas and nylon and leave a clean patch that reads as damage, even though both wear well otherwise. 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. Prevention does all the work here, so keep them clear of rain and sunscreen.

Hardware, linings and the parts people forget

The hardware is palladium-plated with a matte or brushed finish, and it is that finish you need to protect. 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. The engraving on the Margaux buckles and base feet holds dust, and a soft brush clears it better than a cloth. Vacuum rather than wash the cotton herringbone linings used in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12. 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.

Between wears: storage that works

Storage is where good bags quietly deteriorate, and the fix is cheap. 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. The space should be 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.

Knowing when to stop and call a specialist

Crossing the maintenance-to-restoration line at home is how good row handbags are ruined, and that line is clear enough. Anything involving colour loss, ink, oil, water rings on suede or a stretched handle belongs with a leather specialist. The same goes for structural work, loose stitching at a stress point or a lining torn away from its seam included. Check that the specialist has handled unlogoed luxury calfskin, since techniques built for coated canvas do not transfer. The right specialist tests discreetly and says plainly when a mark will not come out cleanly, because untreated hide holds some marks for good. A botched attempt at home leaves a resale discount larger than the cost of one competent intervention.