Leather, Suede and Raffia: Caring for The Row Bags
Buy one of these bags and you quickly notice what is missing. No logo plaque, no coated canvas, no heavy hardware taking the knocks. Instead you have a great deal of exposed surface: calfskin that shows its grain, lambskin linings, suede that marks if you look at it wrongly, and in summer a raffia weave with nothing sealing it. Care for The Row bags rests almost wholly on the material rather than on some coating applied on top. Easy to maintain, and unforgiving of an error.
Material is the organising principle here, 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 wants something different again.
First, an honest caveat about care instructions
There is no public care protocol issued by The Row 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. Handle it as a good leather specialist would: carefully, conservatively, always leaning toward doing less. No definitive brand-issued cleaning routine exists ysl camera bag 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.
What you do matters more than what you buy
The bulk of the damage to a good bag comes from routine handling, and the remedies are behavioural rather than chemical. Overfilling distorts a soft silhouette faster than anything else, and it is the error owners make most often with the Margaux and the Park Tote. 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 manage it faster. Rain is harder on unfinished surfaces than people assume, and suede and raffia have next to no defence against it. Sun, heat and water avoided will do more for a bag than anything sold in a bottle.
- Empty the bag out before it goes into storage, including receipts and anything that can transfer colour.
- Leave a soft bag hanging by its handles and the drop stretches, so do not do it.
- Pens, keys and cosmetics belong in a pouch, not loose against the lining.
- Pale calfskin and untreated suede want clean hands.
Smooth, grained, saddle and polished calfskin
The most forgiving material in the line is also its backbone. Smooth calfskin reveals scuffs and shine, 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, worked with the grain, with attention to the corners and base where dirt collects. Neutral conditioner can go on sparingly and infrequently, tested first on a hidden panel, and the emphasis belongs on both words. Over-conditioning leaves hide unevenly darkened, produces a tacky surface and softens structure you meant to keep. Dark denim also transfers dye onto pale calfskin, so keep pale bags clear of indigo, and never scrub a transferred mark, because scrubbing only spreads it.
Inside jobs: nappa and lambskin
Because they appear more often as linings than exteriors, protecting them works differently. On the Margaux Shoulder the lining is lambskin, and the Bourse Clutch pairs a calfskin exterior with a nappa lining — so the softest material in the bag is the one your keys sit against. Each is exceptionally soft, each marks easily, and neither one responds to being worked on. A soft dry cloth, applied lightly and rarely, is the whole treatment. Leave conditioner out of it completely, because these hides are already supple and over-treatment leaves a greasy sheen that will not come out. A pouch inside the bag protects far better than anything you could apply.
Suede: the most demanding material in the line
Suede commands a consistent premium at this label and comes with a matching increase in care. Observed 2026 market prices make the gap obvious: 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. Most owners miss the key point: suede is cared for mechanically, not chemically. A dedicated suede brush, worked gently in a single direction, raises the nap and clears surface dust, and which alone handles most routine wear. Anything wetter than that belongs to a professional.
- A light brush along the nap after each wear, not a scrub across it.
- Natural drying at room temperature, no radiators or hairdryers, then a brush once it is fully dry.
- Work dry marks away with a suede eraser and the lightest pressure.
- Leave anything oily, coloured or set alone — send it to a leather specialist.
The list of what must never go on suede is short and absolute: no leather cream, no conditioner, no wet wipes, no soap, no water-based cleaner. Matted nap or a ring that shows in every light is the result. Regular brushing achieves more across a year than any treatment, which makes prevention rather than repair the realistic standard.
Raffia, sisal, canvas, nylon, silk and satin: what cannot be fixed
These are the least serviceable materials the brand uses, and they ought to be bought with that in mind. 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. Canvas and nylon wear well, though solvents and hard scrubbing do them no favours, which warps the weave and leaves behind a clean patch that looks like damage. Silk and satin pieces, including the small evening bags and knotted crossbody shapes, mark permanently with water and skin oils. Spot-clean with a barely damp cloth and blot quickly — that is the only home treatment worth trying on any of them. Here, prevention carries everything, so keep them clear of rain and sunscreen.
| The material | Regular routine | What to never do |
|---|---|---|
| Smooth and grained calfskin | Soft dry cloth as standard, with neutral conditioner only sparingly and rarely | Over-frequent conditioning; soaking a stain through |
| Nappa and lambskin | A dry soft cloth under light pressure | Conditioner and cream alike |
| Suede surfaces | A suede brush and eraser; a professional for stains | Anything wet: soap, wet wipes, water-based cleaners, and cream too |
| Raffia and sisal, canvas and nylon | Spot-clean and blot; air-dry | Soaking, solvents and hard scrubbing |
| The silk and satin pieces | Professional care; keep it dry | Home cleaning of any kind |
Hardware, linings and the bits people forget
Hardware here is palladium-plated, matte or brushed, and protecting that finish is the whole job. Metal polish exists to create shine, and it will burnish a deliberately soft surface into something that no longer matches the bag. A dry cloth on the buckles and feet is enough, and drying whenever they get wet, so moisture never sits in the join. The engraving on the Margaux buckles and base feet holds dust, 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. Because early attention turns a large repair into a small one, give the stitching at the handle roots an occasional look.
How to store them between wears
Good bags deteriorate quietly in storage, and the fix is cheap. Store it in its own dust bag, lightly stuffed so the shape holds without stretching the sides. Acid-free tissue or a soft cotton scarf works; newspaper does not, since 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. Because form comes back to a bag that rests, rotating what you carry does more good than owners realise.
Knowing when to stop and call a specialist
A clear line separates maintenance from restoration, 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. Structural jobs fall on the same side of the line, whether that is loose stitching at a stress point or a lining torn away from its seam. Ask whether they have worked on unlogoed luxury calfskin before, since what works on coated canvas does not transfer. The right specialist tests discreetly and says plainly when a mark will not come out cleanly, since on untreated hide some cannot be lifted. A botched attempt at home leaves a resale discount larger than the cost of one competent intervention.
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