The Row Margaux: Soft Margaux vs the Original, Specification by Specification
Ask five people what the difference is between the Margaux and the Soft Margaux and you will get five confident and contradictory answers. That confusion is fair, since the two bags share a name, a silhouette and a set of signature buckles, and since the shopping situation around them changed sharply in 2025. Below is a specification-led comparison instead of an impression-led one, putting measurements, materials, closures, linings and observed prices side by side line by line. All of it comes from what the brand states on its own product pages and from prices observed in the market in 2026 — observations, not an official price list. If a figure is not reliably documented, that is flagged here instead of guessed at, because the Margaux is the single most misquoted bag in the label’s catalogue. The short answer is that the Soft is not a cheaper or lazier Margaux — it is a better equipped one. The longer version is set out below.
Two Bags, One Name, One Complicated Year
An unlined-looking tote that takes its structure from leather thickness and panel shaping rather than stiffeners, the original Margaux is the flagship the brand’s handbag reputation was built on. The Soft Margaux appeared as a related yet separately ysl small shoulder bag specified bag, with construction details and product pages of its own. In 2025 the original went missing from third-party retailers, and the brand’s own webstore now shows the Soft Margaux and the Margaux Shoulder instead of the original. Reports of its discontinuation are widespread, but no official confirmation has ever come from the brand, and that difference matters rather than being pedantry when you are setting a price on the secondary market. In practice, the Soft Margaux is the one you can buy new and the original is now a resale proposition. Anyone comparing the two is really comparing a current product with an archive one, and that changes how the specification differences should be weighted.
The Spec Sheet, Side by Side
Isolating the features the Soft version adds and checking them one at a time is the cleanest way to see the difference. There are five of them, and together they change how the bag behaves in daily use rather than how it looks from across a street. Protective metal feet lift the base away from the ground. An interior toggle closure gives the open-top shape a way to close. Belted side gussets let the profile be cinched or released. Adding a zip pocket and card slots turns a deep cavity into a structured interior. These are set out in the table with the observed 2026 figures for the versions sold new.
| Specification detail | Soft Margaux 10 and 12 | Original Margaux |
|---|---|---|
| Protective metal feet | Fitted as standard | Not part of the specification |
| Interior toggle closure | Included | Not in the specification |
| Belted side gussets | Fitted | Not in the specification |
| Zip pocket | On the 12 only | Not specified |
| Card slots | One in the 10, two in the 12 | Not in the specification |
| Observed 2026 pricing | $3,650 and $4,350 | Secondary market only |
Materials and Linings
Stated as 100 percent calfskin in a matte grained finish, the Soft Margaux 10 and 12 are both lined in cotton herringbone. The lining choice reveals plenty about the brand’s priorities: a cotton herringbone interior is a textile decision, not a branding one, and it holds shape without adding the plastic feel of a coated logo jacquard. The Margaux Shoulder 12 goes further and lines the bag in 100 percent lambskin, which is softer, more easily marked and considerably more expensive to work with. Across the wider family the exteriors include grained calfskin, saddle calfskin, suede, canvas paired with leather, and nylon, so a Margaux is not automatically a smooth-leather bag. Made in Italy is stated on the brand’s own product pages for the Soft Margaux 10 and 12 and for the Margaux Shoulder 12. Suede and canvas versions read differently in the hand and, importantly, behave differently on resale.
Hardware and How You Carry It
Hardware on the Soft Margaux is palladium-plated, and it is finished matte rather than polished, in keeping with the rest of the collection. What signs any Margaux is the pair of adjustable side buckles; on genuine examples they are engraved, and so are the base feet where feet are fitted. Purpose rather than decoration is the point of the buckles, as they are what enables the belted gussets to change the bag’s width. The Soft Margaux 10 and 12 share a 5-inch handle drop, which is a hand-carry or crook-of-the-elbow figure and not a shoulder one, so both come with a removable shoulder strap to make up for it. The Margaux Shoulder 12 replaces that arrangement entirely for elongated tubular handles and narrowed gusseted side panels, so it is built from the start to sit under the arm. If you want one The Row bag that works hands-free without a strap, the Shoulder is the answer rather than the Soft.
The Sizes and the Numbers Behind Them
The number in the name is just the width of the bag in inches, which makes this family easier to navigate than most. The Soft Margaux 10 measures 10 x 7 x 7.5 inches, a genuinely compact bag with unusual depth for its footprint. The Soft Margaux 12 measures 12 x 9 x 7.5 inches, keeping the same depth while gaining two inches of width and two of height, and that is the size most buyers settle on for daily use. The Margaux Shoulder 12 measures 14.75 x 9 x 5 inches, so despite carrying a 12 in its name it is the widest and the shallowest of the three, because the number refers to the bag’s stated size rather than its maximum external span. A Soft Margaux 15 is in circulation, and a Margaux 17 in a leather-and-canvas execution has been carried by Selfridges. Neither of them has a verifiable retail price, so any figure quoted for them should be treated as an asking price rather than a documented one.
Prices Now, and What Resale Is Doing
Observed 2026 market pricing sets the Soft Margaux 10 at $3,650, the Soft Margaux 12 at $4,350 and the Margaux Shoulder 12 at $4,900. That places the entire family in the collection’s top band, alongside the India and Agnes top handles and the Marlo totes. On the secondary market the picture is unusual — the Rebag CLAIR 2025 report put the Margaux Tote at 107 percent value retention, part of a brand-level figure of 97 percent that took the label into the report’s unicorn tier for the first time. Less firm secondary figures agree, with the Margaux reported to sell frequently at around 40 percent above retail, Fashionphile resale reported up roughly 44 percent year on year, and The RealReal reporting pre-owned Margaux sales averaging about 15 percent over original retail. A major resale authenticator places new Margaux bags in the $5,000 to $9,000 range, which is a useful sanity check: anything advertised in the hundreds is almost certainly counterfeit. This is not investment advice, and it is worth remembering that canvas, nylon and seasonal-colour versions discount rather than appreciating.
Choosing Your Version
The straightforward answer for anyone who wants the bag they can actually purchase new, with a warranty of availability and the fuller specification, is the Soft Margaux. Pick the 10 for light carrying and the shape at its most sculptural; pick the 12 for a working bag, as the second card slot and the zip pocket only appear at that size. The Margaux Shoulder 12 is the pick if your carry is under the arm rather than in the hand, because tubular handles and narrowed gussets are built for exactly that. Only pursue the original on resale if the archive version is specifically what you want and you are comfortable going without metal feet, a toggle closure or interior organisation. Whatever you pick, note that the brand runs no public authenticity coding system at all, so verification comes down to stitching, hand-painted edges, stamp placement and the weight and finish of the hardware. Buy black or neutral calfskin if resale matters to you, and buy whatever colour you like if it does not.
- Start with hand-carry or shoulder, because that separates Soft from Shoulder straight away
- Then size — the 10 for occasion carry, the 12 for daily use
- Then material, remembering that canvas and seasonal colours discount on resale
- Only after that should an original on the secondary market enter the picture
