THE ROW MARGAUX 15 REVIEW

 

Are you interested in purchasing The Row Margaux 15? I’m here to give you my honest opinion. Let’s do this.

 

 

I parted ways with The Row Margaux 15 this past month, so I felt the need to write something about it. What better than a review to help a Margaux fan out there, trying to decide.

I have always been on the hunt for a weekender or a personal handbag to use during my travels. Yet for some reason, I have not been able to find one and pull the trigger. I remember being in Florence a couple of years ago and looking at leather bags being sold in open markets, the majority of them were duffle bag styles. I am sure many people have an appreciation for those, not me. Gym bags? No thanks. Louis Vuitton is well known for their travel bags, but I really really do not have a soft spot for their monogram style or canvas as a matter of fact.

So, I was waiting for something to come along. The Row Margaux 15 really was it for me. I saw the bag and I was obsessed. There was no talking me out of it.

 

 

This blog post is The Row Margaux 15 review. All the pros, cons and everything you need to know about this bag.

 

 

SOME HERSTORY

Sometime in 2023 when the Margaux Bag hit its peak fame, it came on my radar. The bag was first released in 2018 and kept coming back in several variations, colors, and the bag continued to be perfected season after season. Older models had a suede interior, which made the bag quite heavy compared to the new styles, which use canvas and as a result are much lighter.
I was starting to see the bag around the city, in its ginormous 17 size. Is there anything more luxurious than a 17-inch dark brown leather bag?
Fast forward to September 2024, the interest in the bag has not faded, but the brand has been able to control the buzz around it, simply by limiting supply. Most brands would focus on increasing production, to hit higher profits. Not The Row, if they could, they would probably stop production. I genuinely thought they would. They limited production dramatically, creating very long waitlists, sometimes 6 months to a year. As a matter of fact, I’m still waiting for my Margaux 17.

As of the past two months, they also limited supplies exclusively to their online and in store base only (for the Margaux only of course) — so you cannot get the Margaux from third party stockists anymore. These are all efforts to protect the value of the bag itself, and control who has access to it. It’s not a terrible idea if you think about it. I really dislike seeing the second-hand market of brand-new Hermes bags. But we can talk about that another time.

 

THE STYLE: IT BAG?

There isn’t much to say here except you love it or you don’t. For some it’s just a bag, for others it’s the Margaux. I truly love how it looks. It is a show stopper in a very subtle way, with a vintage feel to it. It’s the classic definition of quiet luxury. But I never bought into the whole it’s the new Birkin. I don’t think it should be approached with that idea. The Margaux isn’t a Birkin, it’s a gorgeous high-quality bag with its own right in the luxury handbag world.

 

WAIT TIME

I first saw the Margaux bag sometime in 2023, and seriously wanted it as of December (or maybe January?) and got on the waitlist. I was offered the bag in March 2024. Looking back, I thought I would have to wait longer. The Vogue article had called it the new Birkin bag and because of the ‘it bag’ status, I was shocked to receive the call when I did.

 

BUYING PROCESS

I was on the waitlist at the store on the Upper East Side. The sales associates are super nice, anyone who says otherwise, don’t believe them. I was offered two leather options when I arrived to the store, one was the grained leather with silver hardware and the other was the smooth leather with gold hardware. I purchased the grained leather (more on that later).

 

The Row Margaux 15 hanging out on Madison Avenue, on the Upper East Side.

 

LEATHER AND HARDWARE OPTIONS

I won’t be listing here what the options are because you can see them on the website. Some color and hardware combinations are hard to come by, like the grained black leather and gold hardware or soft dark brown leather with gold hardware. There are also so many new variations of the bag itself, the hidden handles, the one with the belt, the weaved leather and the clutch version (don’t ask for my opinion on that one).
During my wait time, I think I was also very overwhelmed because I couldn’t decide which leather, color and hardware combination I wanted. Social media is the worse when you need help. I kept on going back and forth between the grained leather for its scratch resistant and more sustainable nature, and the smooth black or dark brown leather for their luxurious feel. There is nothing like The Row’s leather.

 

DIFFERENT SIZES

Currently there is a Margaux 10, 12, 15 and 17. There used to be a 7.5 but those have been discontinued. The 10 and 12, come with a strap, the 15 and 17 do not. The 15 can only be hand held or on the crook of your arm. The 17 will rest on your shoulder, it also has an additional 5^th foot at the bottom, whereas the other sizes only come with 4 feet. This bag looks great in 15- and 17-inch sizes, in my opinion. It is made for a large size, and it is meant to slouch. The 10 and 12 look odd, like a toy version, in my opinion. It also sits away from your body because of its width when you use the strap, so make sure you factor that in, it is not going to sit close to your body.

 

ABOUT THE SECOND-HAND MARKET

I always encourage people to buy from the second-hand market, but careful with the Margaux. Unlike any of The Row bags, the Margaux has some seriously well-made fakes on the market. Those who have seen and played with the bag, might recognize the fake ones really quick. And because of the simplicity of the design, the features that make this bag authentic are not hard to reproduce.

There is no serial number on the bag. The feet and buckles all read ‘The Row’. The stamp on one of the sides is either just a pressure stamp or a gold stamp depending on the leather type. The same goes for the stamp inside the bag. The number of pockets and lock. So you have to look at all these things. The gold hardware with grained leather is hard to come by for instance, so if you got one double check for authenticity.

The other issue is that there aren’t companies authenticating for The Row as there are for other brands, which make me really uncomfortable to buy this bag from any of the second-hand markets. Although I have to say, it took Vestiaire some serious convincing to look at my card, receipt and a million photos to list my bag. It was weird. I was losing my mind as to why it was an issue.

I also really really do not like the price on the second-hand market. If you really can’t get on the list or you’re done waiting, sure buying and paying a little more makes sense. But it’s currently being listed for twice the price, although I haven’t seen it sell at that price. The brand-new Margaux 15 is going anywhere between its original price to 6500 USD range. The listings in Europe are higher because The Row is more expensive in Europe.

Some of the authentic features of The Row Margaux 15.

 

CONS: SCARCITY

I think my main issue around this bag is its scarcity. Scarcity not only when it comes to purchasing it, but even seeing the bag and figuring out what the different leather types are, what the hardware finishes are like. I think for the price of the bag, it’s not a small amount, you’re investing into something that you will hopefully love and wear for years to come.

It’s hard to accept the fact that you are still undecided about the leather and hardware combination until the last minute. The first time you see the bag is when you are offered for purchase! And when you are offered something that is out of stock all the time, you become really stupid in making a decision – let me rephrase that – you may not make the right decision under pressure. As someone who tries on bags and takes photos quite a bit before pulling the trigger, I found it really overwhelming to have to make that decision in store, between two bags. Had I had the time to see the bag in its different sizes, leather types, color, and hardware combination, I would have made a very different decision that day.

 

CONS: NOTES ON THE GRAINED LEATHER

I thought the smooth black leather felt very luxurious, but was afraid of getting it scratched; but the grained leather felt very cheap to touch. I feel bad saying anything negative about The Row, because I truly love the brand. But I own several grained leather handbags, from Celine for instance and they feel very rich to touch, The Row’s grained leather that is used for the Margaux specifically, almost has a spongy feel to it. Not sure if it ages into a nice leather, but I didn’t love how it felt in store.

Yet, I went with it because that’s the one I was considering the most before I see the bag. Had I seen it in advance, I think I would have crossed it off my list and focused on the smooth leather version. The smooth leather is a softer leather that is prone to scratches. Based on how we’ve seen the Olsens using their Birkins, I don’t think this was a design flaw, they seem to welcome wear and tear.

 

CONS: The Row Margaux 15 vs 17

The 15 is the most popular size, and in all honesty the 10 & 12 look odd to me. I’ve seen people holding the smaller sizes with the strap, it doesn’t look right. It’s a bag that’s meant to have slouch and fit everything.
It’s hard to conceptualize the size of the bag based on measurements though, if you don’t see it. Whether it’s through photos on social media, or celebrities holding the bag. Half the time, you’re wondering what size they are. Once again, I bought the Margaux 15 without really thinking if this bag could be used as a weekender. The minute I brought it home, I knew it was small. I didn’t need to fit my things into it to test it. I just knew.

Not to beat the dead horse, but seeing the bag in store would have really helped me figure things out rather than randomly getting on the list for the size 15 because it seems ‘large enough’ and it’s the most popular size. Almost everyone who has the 15, then goes on to want the 17 because the 15 isn’t big enough.

 

CONS: PRICE POINT

Yes, it’s super luxurious. I am always defending the concept of owning less but quality items. But the price point of this bag defies all justification. The Margaux 15, in my opinion should be sold for at least a thousand dollars less. I don’t make leather goods myself, so what I say is just my opinion. They do not look like a very complicated bag to make in all honesty. But if you like the bag, I guess you would just bite the bullet.

 

Note: This is my only review where I haven’t actually used the bag (sorry!), but I think the information here is still valuable to those interested in the bag.

 

This blog post is The Row Margaux 15 review. All the pros, cons and everything you need to know about this bag.

 

 

As always, thank you for stopping by and reading. Click here if you’d like to see & follow my Instagram page @girlontheues.

See you next week,

Girl on the Upper East Side

Xx

 

If this interests you, you might enjoy reading my blog post on The Row, Phoebe Philo, my Celine Nano Luggage Bag Review, or my Mansur Gavriel Mini Bucket Bag.