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Leather, Suede and Raffia: Caring for The Row Bags

What you notice first about one of these bags is what it does not have. There is no logo plaque in the way, no coated canvas asking to be wiped down, no heavy hardware taking the knocks. Instead you have a great deal of exposed surface: calfskin with the grain on show, lambskin linings, suede that takes a mark from a glance, and in summer a raffia weave with nothing sealing it. Care for The Row bags rests almost wholly on the material rather than on any finish laid over it. Simple to look after, unforgiving when you get it wrong.

The guide below is arranged 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 needs something different again.

Start here: a caveat about care instructions

Nothing resembling a public care protocol has been issued, because The Row does not publish one. No manual exists, no cleaning chart is published, and no brand-approved product line is sold alongside them. What follows is accordingly material-appropriate general guidance, taken from the behaviour of calfskin, lambskin, suede, canvas and raffia rather than from instructions handed down by the brand. Handle it as a good leather specialist would: cautiously, conservatively, and biased toward doing less. No definitive brand-issued cleaning routine exists for these bags, so anyone presenting one is filling a gap rather than quoting a source. On a piece you care about, ask a professional before applying anything at all.

The habits that matter more than any product

Everyday handling is where most damage to a good bag starts, so ysl envelope bag the fixes are behavioural. 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. Those belted side gussets on the Soft Margaux are for adjusting the shape, not for cramming more in. Sunlight dries and fades leather; radiators and car dashboards do it faster. People underrate what rain does to unfinished surfaces, and suede and raffia have almost no defence against it. Sun, heat and water avoided will do more for a bag than anything sold in a bottle.

• Nothing stays in a stored bag, least of all receipts or anything that can transfer colour.
• Never leave a soft bag hanging by its handles for long, because the drop will stretch.
• Put pens, keys and cosmetics in a pouch rather than loose against the lining.
• Pale calfskin and untreated suede want clean hands.

Calfskin: smooth, grained, saddle and polished

Calfskin carries the line and it forgives more than anything else here. Smooth calfskin shows scuffs and shine, matte grained calfskin conceals them well, and polished saddle leather sits between the two. Routine care is a buff with a soft dry cloth after use, working with the grain and paying attention to the corners and base where dirt collects. Sparingly and infrequently are the operative words for a neutral conditioner, tested first on a hidden panel. Over-conditioning leaves hide unevenly darkened, produces a tacky surface and softens structure you meant to keep. Pale calfskin will also take dye from dark denim, so keep light bags away from indigo, and never scrub a transferred mark, because scrubbing only spreads it.

Nappa and lambskin, usually found inside

Because they appear more often as linings than exteriors, protecting them works differently. Lambskin lines the Margaux Shoulder and the Bourse Clutch sets a calfskin exterior against a nappa lining, so the softest material in the bag is exactly what your keys rest on. Both are exceptionally soft, both mark easily, and neither responds to being worked on. Use a dry soft cloth, lightly and rarely. Avoid conditioner altogether, because they are supple to begin with, and over-treatment leaves a greasy sheen you cannot remove. A pouch inside the bag protects far better than anything you could apply.

Suede, the most demanding material in the line

Suede carries a consistent premium at this label and comes with a matching increase in care. Look at observed 2026 market prices and the gap is obvious: India 10.00 sits at $3,850 in leather against $5,370 in suede, and Agnes 15 runs $5,000 in leather against $5,800 in suede. That premium buys nap — which flattens, absorbs and stains more readily than any finished hide. Suede care is mechanical rather than chemical, which is the point most owners miss. A dedicated suede brush covers most routine wear on its own, worked gently in one direction so it lifts the nap and clears surface dust. Anything wetter goes to a professional.

1. Brush lightly after each wear, following the nap rather than scrubbing across it.
2. Natural drying at room temperature, no radiators or hairdryers, then a brush once it is fully dry.
3. A suede eraser lifts dry marks, applied with minimal pressure.
4. Send anything oily, coloured or set to a leather specialist rather than attempting it yourself.

Leather cream, conditioner, wet wipes, soap and water-based cleaners are all banned from suede — the list is short and absolute. All of them either mat the nap or leave a ring that catches every light. Over a year, regular brushing beats any treatment, which makes prevention rather than repair the realistic standard.

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 and the woven raffia and linen totes are not tanned surfaces, so there is nothing to condition, and no way to refinish a stained panel. 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. Across all of them, the only home treatment worth attempting is spot-cleaning with a barely damp cloth and quick blotting. Prevention does all the work here, so keep them out of the rain and away from sunscreen.

Hardware, linings and the parts people forget

What needs protecting is the finish: the hardware is palladium-plated with a matte or brushed surface. Metal polish exists to create shine, and it 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 if they get wet so moisture does not sit in 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. Vacuum cotton herringbone linings, as found in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12, instead of washing them. Check the stitching at the handle roots occasionally, because spotting a loose thread early turns a large repair into a small one.

Storage 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. Either acid-free tissue or a soft cotton scarf will do the job, 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. Keep the storage space dark, dry and ventilated, and avoid sealed plastic boxes, since they trap humidity against leather. Because a resting bag recovers its form, rotating what you carry does more good than owners realise.

When to hand the bag to a professional

Good row handbags get ruined when the line between maintenance and restoration is crossed at home, and the line itself is clear enough. Anything involving colour loss, ink, oil, water rings on suede or a stretched handle belongs with a leather specialist. So does structural work, including loose stitching at a stress point or a lining torn away from its seam. Ask whether the specialist has handled unlogoed luxury calfskin, 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, because untreated hide holds some marks for good. A single competent intervention costs less than the resale discount a botched home attempt leaves behind.