I Borrowed a $4,800 Bag for Two Weeks. Here's What I Actually Think.

Okay so confession: I thought the Margaux was boring for like three years.

Three years! Every time it popped up on Net-a-Porter I'd scroll right past. No logo, no interesting hardware, just this beige leather rectangle that cost more than my rent. I genuinely didn't understand the hype. There were so many prettier bags out there for that money. More interesting ones. Bags that actually looked like they cost what they cost.

And then. Then I started noticing who was carrying it.

Not influencers. Not the obvious fashion people. It was always women at airports who looked like they hadn't thought about what anyone else thought since maybe 2012. Women in the background of interior photos I'd saved. My friend Sarah, who has genuinely good taste and zero interest in trends.

I started to wonder if maybe I was missing something.

So last spring I asked Sarah if I could borrow hers. She said yes (she's that kind of friend). And I spent two weeks with this bag trying to figure out: is The Row Margaux actually a $4,800 bag? Or have we all just collectively agreed to pretend it is?

Quick Background on The Row (Skip If You Already Know This)

Right, so. The Row. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen started it in 2006. I know what you're thinking. The Full House twins? Making luxury fashion? But honestly whatever preconceptions you have, throw them out. They've been doing the whole understated luxury thing for almost twenty years now. Way before "quiet luxury" became a TikTok term that made me want to scream.

The Margaux is kind of their signature bag. It's named after a Bordeaux wine region, which I only found out recently and felt dumb for not knowing. (It's pronounced mar-GO. Not mar-GAWKS. I said it wrong for an embarrassing amount of time.)

Sizes: there's a 10, a 15, and a 17. Sarah has the 15 which is the one everyone gets. Big enough to fit a laptop and your life, not so big you look like you're carrying luggage. The 10 is more of an evening size. The 17 is basically a weekend bag.

Price is around $4,800 right now for the 15 in normal leather. Goes up from there if you want exotic skins or whatever. Made in Italy. Has exactly one interior pocket, which, we'll talk about that later because it's A Thing. Comes with a shoulder strap that I swear I've never seen a single person actually use.

What the Leather Actually Feels Like (This Is the Part That Got Me)

The thing everyone talks about with The Row is the leather. And I always kind of rolled my eyes at that because like, okay, every expensive bag claims to have amazing leather. But then I actually touched the Margaux and... yeah. Okay. I get it now.

It's hard to describe without sounding pretentious but I'll try. The leather doesn't look shiny or matte. It's somewhere else entirely. There's this depth to it? Like it's absorbing light instead of reflecting it. My sister came over while I had Sarah's bag and I handed it to her without saying what it was. "This feels expensive," she said. Within literally three seconds. Before she even looked at it properly.

I don't know exactly what The Row does to their leather. They source from Italian tanneries and won't say which ones (very on brand for them, they barely even have a logo). But whatever treatment they use, you can feel it. With your eyes closed you can feel it. That sounds dramatic but it's true.

The structure is the other thing. Most tote-ish bags either flop over when they're empty, like sad deflated things, or they're SO stiff that carrying them feels like carrying a briefcase. The Margaux somehow does neither? It just holds its shape. Sits there looking like itself whether you've crammed it full of stuff or just have your phone and a lip balm rattling around in there.

Oh and there's no closure. Like, at all. No zipper, no clasp, no magnet. The top just folds over onto itself. I was sure I'd hate this. Sure my stuff would fall out every time I put the bag down. Never happened. Not once in two weeks. The leather is heavy enough that it holds itself closed. Weird but it works.

The Stuff That Annoyed Me (Because No Bag Is Perfect)

Okay but here's where I have to be honest because this bag has issues and I feel like nobody talks about them.

No feet. The Margaux has no feet on the bottom. Zero. Nada. So every time you set it down, the actual leather is touching whatever gross surface you're putting it on. The restaurant floor. The bathroom counter at the bar. That questionable chair at the coffee shop. After two weeks of real life use, Sarah's bag had little scratches on the base. She shrugged when I pointed them out. "It's supposed to age," she said, and I guess that's The Row's whole philosophy, but still. If you're the type who keeps your bags pristine and wrapped in dust bags between uses, this will make you crazy.

Also it's heavier than you'd think. Not like, breaking your shoulder heavy, but noticeable. That gorgeous thick leather isn't light. By the end of a full day running around Barcelona with it, I felt it.

And the oat color. That iconic creamy beige that everyone obsesses over. It shows EVERYTHING. Water spots. Hand cream. The dye transfer from your jeans. Sarah's is black which is way more practical day-to-day but the black kind of misses the point? Like the whole "I don't need to explain myself to you" energy that made this bag famous is really about that specific oat shade. So. Trade-offs.

Does The Row Margaux Hold Its Value? Let's Look at Actual Numbers

Alright let's talk money because I know that's why a lot of you are here.

I went down a rabbit hole on The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective last week. (For research. Obviously.) Here's what I found: used Margaux bags are selling for about 60-75% of retail depending on condition and color. The oat colorway holds value best. Black is steady. The seasonal colors that The Row does sometimes drop more.

To compare: a Celine or Saint Laurent at a similar price point usually resells for maybe 40-50% of what you paid. So the Margaux does better than average. But it's not Hermès. You're not making money on this bag. If investment returns are your main goal, this probably isn't it.

The Margaux was around $4,200 in 2021. Now it's $4,800. That's about 15% increase which honestly just tracks with luxury inflation generally. The bag is holding its value against the market. Not beating it, not losing to it. Just... staying steady.

Where the math actually starts to work is if you're someone who uses one bag every day. Cost per wear type thinking. If you carry this thing 300 times over three years, that's $16 per use. Which is less than a lot of lunches I buy. That framing helps me anyway.

Who This Bag Is Actually For (Honest Assessment)

Look, I'll just be direct about this.

Get the Margaux if: you're genuinely over the logo thing. Like actually over it, not "I'm over it" while still caring what people think. The Margaux has zero visible branding. Nobody will know what it is unless they know, you know? For some people that's the whole point. For others it defeats the purpose. Figure out which one you are first.

Also get it if you wear a lot of neutrals and want a bag that goes with literally everything without thinking about it. If you don't mind things aging and getting softer over time. If you can spend $4,800 on a bag without it being a financial stretch. (Important: this should not be a sacrifice purchase. If it is, don't.)

Skip it if: you need people to recognize your bag. They won't. Most people will think "nice bag" and move on and if that's going to bug you, this isn't for you.

Also skip if you're a perfectionist about condition because this bag WILL scratch and soften and change. That's the design. It's intentional. But if you keep everything pristine you'll be stressed constantly.

And skip if you need organization. There's one pocket inside. ONE. Everything else just floats around in there. I'm the kind of person who needs things in specific places so this drove me a little crazy honestly.

The biggest skip though: if you want the Margaux because you saw it on someone who looked really chic and you want that vibe. The vibe comes from the person, not the bag. I've seen this exact bag look incredible on some people and kind of off on others. Depends entirely on your existing style.

So Did I Buy It? My Honest Conclusion

I gave Sarah her bag back after two weeks. And I didn't order one for myself.

Not because I didn't like it. I did. Way more than I expected to. By day ten I understood why people are obsessed with this thing. The quality is genuinely there. It does work with everything. There's something satisfying about a bag that doesn't need to prove anything.

But here's what I realized: I was attracted to the IDEA of being a Margaux person more than I actually am one. My life is chaos. I shove granola bars in my bag. I need pockets. I set things down in questionable places without thinking about it. The Margaux wants a certain kind of calm, organized life and that's just not me right now.

Maybe someday. When I'm a different person. Or maybe this will always be the bag I admire on other people. I think that's okay too.

Is it worth $4,800? If you're the right person for it, yes. The quality justifies the price. The resale holds up. It'll last forever. But "worth it" is personal. And the only way to know is to be really honest with yourself about how you actually live, not how you want to live.

What about you? Have you tried one? Decided against it? I'm curious where other people landed.

The Row Margaux 15 Specifications and Where to Buy

The Row Margaux 15

• Price: $4,800 (as of 2025)
• Size: 15" W x 10" H x 7" D
• Material: Italian calf leather
• Made in: Italy
• Closure: Open top, no hardware
• Strap: Detachable shoulder strap included
• Interior: One slip pocket
• Colors: Oat, Black, Dark Brown, seasonal options

Where to Buy:

• The Row (direct)
• Net-a-Porter
• Mytheresa
• Bergdorf Goodman

Resale Options:

• The RealReal
• Vestiaire Collective
• Rebag

Last updated: December 2025