The Row Size Numbers Explained: Margaux 10, 12, 15 and Beyond
Adjectives are how most luxury houses label their sizes. You get a Mini, a Small, a Medium and, if the house is feeling expansive, a Jumbo, and none of those words commits to a thing you can measure. The Row does something discreetly different across a large part of its line, and once you spot it the whole catalogue becomes easier to read. Whatever number appears in a model name is the bag’s width in inches. Margaux 10 measures ten inches across. Margaux 12 is twelve inches. That single fact does more practical work than any amount of styling copy, and it is the spine of this explainer.
The convention runs further than the flagship. The full list runs Margaux 10, 12, 15 and 17, India 10.00, 12.00 and 15.75, Agnes 12 and 15, Sofia 8.75 and 10, and Marlo 12 and 14. The decimals are the proof: nobody writes 15.75 unless the figure is meant literally. What follows sets out how far the rule extends, where it bends, what the number leaves out, and how to turn it into a decision when you are choosing between two sizes of the same bag.
The rule, stated simply
Read the number in the name, add the word inches, and that is the bag’s width. That is the entire system, and it is applied consistently enough across the numbered families to be treated as a rule rather than a fluke. It is refreshingly honest labelling, since it closes the gap between what a size sounds like and what it measures. One house’s Small can beat another house’s Medium, but ten inches is ten inches anywhere. For anyone measuring The Row bags against something already in the wardrobe, it turns the comparison into arithmetic rather than guesswork. It also explains why saint-lauren.com/tote-bags the brand can run four sizes of one silhouette without confusing anyone.
| Bag | Size number read as width | Listed dimensions (W x H x D) |
|---|---|---|
| Soft Margaux 10 | 10 in | 10 x 7 x 7.5 in |
| Soft Margaux 12 | 12 in | 12 x 9 x 7.5 in |
| Soft Margaux 15 | 15 in | Width taken from the name; no measurements listed |
| Margaux Shoulder 12 | 12 in by the name | 14.75 x 9 x 5 in, the exception that breaks the rule |
| Margaux 17 | 17 in | Approximately 17 x 12 x 9 in |
| India 10.00 | 10 in | Not published officially |
| India 12.00 | 12 in | Not officially published |
| India 15.75 | 15.75 in | Not officially published |
| Agnes 12 | 12 in | Only the width, taken from the name |
| Agnes 15 | 15 in | Only the width, taken from the name |
| Marlo 12 | 12 in | Width from the name; nothing further listed |
| Marlo 14 | 14 in | Width from the name only |
| Sofia 8.75 | 8.75 in | Archive piece; not listed officially |
| Sofia 10 | 10 in | Archive piece; not listed officially |
What the number leaves unsaid
Width is one dimension out of three, and the other two do not scale with it in any dependable way. Set the two Soft Margaux sizes with official figures behind them side by side: the 10 measures 10 x 7 x 7.5 in and the 12 measures 12 x 9 x 7.5 in. Depth is identical at 7.5 inches, which means the larger bag is not a proportional enlargement of the smaller one. What really changes is the height, up by two inches, and the width, up by the same. In practice, stepping up a size delivers a taller opening and more length rather than a deeper bag. Anyone expecting the 12 to swallow twice as much as the 10 will find the difference narrower than the numbers imply.
The handle drop is constant as well, at five inches on both Soft Margaux sizes, and that is another thing the model number never tells you. Five inches is a hand-carry or crook-of-the-elbow drop rather than a shoulder one, and both sizes ship with a removable shoulder strap to handle the rest. Interior fittings differ between them as well: the 10 has a single card slot while the 12 adds a second plus a zip pocket. Day to day, details like those decide more than an inch of width. Read the number to place the bag on a scale, then read the specification to understand what it does.
The Margaux Shoulder 12, and where the rule bends
One model in the current line departs from the pattern, and that is worth stating clearly rather than quietly. The Margaux Shoulder 12 carries a twelve in its name, but the brand lists its dimensions as 14.75 x 9 x 5 in. Because the width in the name and the width in the specification disagree, the number is doing the job of a family size rather than a literal external measurement on this one. It squares with the silhouette itself, a reworked shape with elongated tubular handles and narrowed gusseted side panels rather than a plain scaling-up of the tote. So generalise the lesson, and use the number as a starting point before confirming against published dimensions and committing. If a listing offers no dimensions at all, the number is a pointer and not a measurement.
What each width actually holds
Most guides skip the step that matters, which is translating inches into daily use. A bag under ten inches wide is a phone, cardholder, keys and lipstick kit, which is the territory of the Sofia 8.75 and of the small clutches. At ten inches you have the classic small day bag, taking a compact wallet, a phone, sunglasses and a slim pouch without distortion. At twelve inches a bag begins taking a paperback, a small notebook, a folded scarf and a full-size wallet at once. Fourteen to fifteen inches is a working width, the point at which documents and a tablet stop being a squeeze. Seventeen inches, as on the Margaux 17, is a weekend and travel dimension rather than an everyday one.
- 8.75 to 10 in: evenings, errands and anything where the bag should disappear.
- 12 in: the line’s most versatile width and the one most buyers settle on.
- 14 to 15 in: work, the commute and days when you carry other people’s things as well.
- 17 in: travel and overnight use, where soft structure is a feature rather than a compromise.
Price follows width, though material moves faster
Size and price track each other, though not as sharply as you might expect. Take observed 2026 market prices: the Soft Margaux 10 sits at $3,650 and the Soft Margaux 12 at $4,350, so two inches of width costs roughly $700. Observed prices put Marlo 12 at $3,600 and $4,900 depending on the version and Marlo 14 at $5,300, a far bigger step for the same two inches. Larger jumps come from material than from size: India 10.00 is $3,850 in leather against $5,370 in suede, while Agnes 15 runs $5,000 in leather, $5,800 in suede and $4,300 in a canvas blend. Agnes 12 sits at $4,400, so the leather Agnes 15 costs only $600 more for three additional inches. If you are optimising spend, the material is the bigger financial decision and the width is the bigger practical one.
The bags with no number
Plenty of the line falls outside the system, and confusion begins when the two conventions get mixed. The Park Tote family relies on words rather than inches, running Small, Medium, Large and XL alongside the N/S Park Tote and Park Tote Three. Small bags such as the 90’s Bag, the Half Moon and the Bourse Clutch are named without any size marker. With those, dimensions are all you have: the Bourse Clutch is listed at 10.2 x 6.5 x 2.3 in, and the Half Moon is given officially as 8 x 13.5 x 2.5 in, with other listings differing enough that the figure is best read as approximate. No rule governs the archive models either, the Camden measuring roughly 9 x 12.5 x 5.25 in despite bearing no number. The N/S and E/W prefixes are shorthand for orientation, as a rule read as north-south for taller shapes and east-west for wider ones.
How to turn inches into a decision
A literal sizing system earns its keep because you can test it before you buy. Measure a bag you already own and like, and compare its width with the number in the model name you have in mind. Repeat it for the widest thing you carry routinely, whether a laptop, a folder or a water bottle, then add an inch of tolerance for soft construction. Keep in mind that most of these are unstructured shapes, which is why a bag looks smaller empty and fuller in use than any flat measurement implies. Caught between sizes on a soft silhouette, you will generally find the smaller one looks better and the larger one performs better. The genuine choice in front of you is that trade-off and not the number itself, whenever you buy row handbags in a numbered family.
