Handmade Italian Handbag The Row Leather Purse

Caring for The Row Leather, Suede and Raffia Bags

The first thing you register about one of these bags is everything it leaves out. Nothing to protect: no logo plaque, no coated canvas to wipe down, no heavy hardware taking the knocks. What you have instead is a lot of exposed surface: calfskin with the grain on show, lambskin linings, suede that marks at almost nothing, and in summer a raffia weave with nothing sealing it. Care for The Row bags rests almost wholly on the material rather than on a finish laid over it. That makes them simple to look after and unforgiving when you get it wrong.

The guide below is arranged by material, because that is where the real decisions sit. The same season can give you a grained calfskin tote and a suede top handle that need opposite treatment, with a sisal bag different again.

First, an honest caveat about care instructions

The Row issues no public care protocol for its bags. You will find no manual, no published cleaning chart and no brand-approved product line sold with them. Everything here is therefore material-appropriate general guidance, based on how calfskin, lambskin, suede, canvas and raffia actually behave rather than from instructions handed down by the brand. Treat it the way a good leather specialist would: cautious, conservative and biased toward doing less. 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. Where the piece matters to you, ask a professional before you apply anything at all.

Why habits outrank products

Most damage to a good bag comes from routine handling, and the remedies are behavioural rather row leather top handle than chemical. Overfilling distorts a soft silhouette faster than anything else, and owners make it most often with the Margaux and the Park Tote. The belted side gussets on the Soft Margaux are there to let you adjust the shape, not for forcing more inside. Sunlight both dries and fades leather; radiators and car dashboards manage it faster. On unfinished surfaces, rain does more damage than most people expect, and neither suede nor raffia has much defence against it. Nothing on a shelf matches the effect of keeping a bag clear of sun, heat and water.

• Empty the bag before storing it, receipts included, along with anything that can transfer colour.
• Do not hang a soft bag by its handles for long stretches, because the drop will stretch.
• Put 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.

Smooth, grained, saddle and polished calfskin

Calfskin is the backbone of the line and the most forgiving material in it. Where smooth calfskin shows scuffs and shine, matte grained calfskin hides them, with polished saddle leather between the two. Routine care is a buff with a soft dry cloth after use, following the grain and giving attention to the corners and base where dirt collects. A neutral conditioner may be used sparingly and infrequently, after a test on a hidden panel, and both of those words carry weight. Over-conditioning darkens hide unevenly, produces a tacky surface and softens structure you meant to keep. Because pale calfskin picks up dye from dark denim, 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. 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 are exceptionally soft, both mark easily, and neither responds to being worked on. The correct answer is a dry soft cloth, nothing more, applied 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

Suede carries a consistent premium at this label and earns a matching increase in care. The observed 2026 market prices make the gap plain: 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. For the premium you get a nap that flattens, soaks up and stains faster than any finished hide. Most owners miss the key point: suede care is mechanical rather than chemical. Most routine wear is handled by a dedicated suede brush alone, used gently in one direction to lift the nap and clear surface dust. Anything wetter goes to a professional.

1. After each wear, brush lightly along the nap, not a scrub across it.
2. Allow a wet bag to dry naturally at room temperature, nowhere near a radiator or hairdryer, then brush the nap back up once it is fully dry.
3. Dry marks come away with a suede eraser, used with as little pressure as possible.
4. Anything oily, coloured or set goes to a leather specialist rather than attempting it yourself.

What should never touch suede makes a short, absolute list: no leather cream, no conditioner, no wet wipes, no soap, no water-based cleaner. What you get is a matted nap, or a ring that shows in every light. The realistic standard is prevention, not repair, since regular brushing outperforms any treatment across a year.

Raffia and sisal, canvas and 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 warps the weave and leaves behind a clean patch that looks like damage. Permanent marking from water and skin oils is the risk on silk and satin, the small evening bags and knotted crossbody shapes included. On every one of these, spot-cleaning with a barely damp cloth and prompt blotting is as far as home treatment should go. Prevention does all the work here, so keep them clear of rain and sunscreen.

The parts people forget: hardware and linings

The fittings are palladium-plated with a matte or brushed finish, and protecting that finish is the whole job. 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 whenever they get wet, keeping moisture out of the join. Buckles and base feet on the Margaux are engraved, and the recesses trap dust, which 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. 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.

How to store them between wears

Good bags deteriorate quietly in storage, and the fix is cheap. Use the dust bag it came with, with light stuffing so the shape holds and the sides do not stretch. Acid-free tissue or a soft cotton scarf works; newspaper does not, since the ink transfers. Keep bags upright on a shelf instead of stacked beneath others, since the silhouettes hold shape empty and give way under weight. A dark, dry, ventilated space is the aim, and no sealed plastic boxes, which trap humidity against leather. Rotation matters more than most owners expect, because time off lets a bag recover its form.

When to hand it 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. Colour loss, ink, oil, water rings on suede or a stretched handle all belong 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. Because coated-canvas technique does not carry across, ask whether the specialist has handled unlogoed luxury calfskin. The right specialist tests discreetly and says plainly when a mark will not come out cleanly, since on untreated hide some cannot be lifted. One competent intervention costs less than the resale discount left by a botched attempt at home.