The two brands people mean when they say quiet luxury, compared from the pieces Luxury Handbags sells. The Row is the New York house of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, founded in 2006; Totême is the Stockholm house of Elin Kling and Karl Lindman, founded in 2014. Both build wardrobes from archetypes in neutral shades. The Row’s median price on Luxury Handbags is $2,605 against $980 for Totême, and that gap is where most of the differences live.
Key facts
- Totême on Luxury Shoes : 1,518 pieces, median $980; The Row: 788 pieces, median $2,605 (sample of the newest 100)
- Both are founder-led, both trade on restraint, and both are stocked on Luxury Handbags with authentication and worldwide shipping
- The price gap is the headline: Totême sits at roughly a third of The Row and Khaite at the median
- Sizes: Totême sells in EU and letters ( Luxury Handbags shows UK); see the size guide
Price
The Row sits at roughly three times the Totême median on Luxury Shoes , and its top end runs far beyond Totême’s $7,440. A cashmere crew, a pair of tailored trousers and a wool coat each cost a third as much at Totême, and the fabric on those pieces is comparable in weight and hand if not in rarity. The Row buys the rarer fibres, the double-faced cashmere and the exotic skins; Totême buys very good wool, cashmere and calf leather and stops there.
Design
The Row is the more austere of the two: unornamented, often oversized, and it moves slowly. Totême is closer to fashion. It has a runway, a seasonal colour, the scarf jacket and the T-Lock as signatures, and a shoe and jewellery line with a point of view. If you want to disappear into perfect clothes, The Row; if you want one idea per piece, Totême.
Fit
Both cut long and clean. The Row sizes in US numbers and runs generous; Totême sizes in EU and letters and states true to size, with its oversized coats flagged. On a 180 cm model both hang the same; on most of us the Totême tailoring needs a hem and The Row needs a size down.
Bags and shoes
The Row’s bags are the reference for logo-free leather goods and priced accordingly. Totême’s T-Lock and belted totes are made in Italy from calf and cow leather at a quarter of the price, with a twist clasp as the one detail. On shoes, The Row makes the barest flat and sandal; Totême makes the set-back heel and a fuller range of boots.
Who buys which
The Row customer is buying a fabric and a silence. The Totême customer is buying a wardrobe system at a price that allows a coat, a bag and a pair of shoes in the same season. Many women own both and wear them together, which is the best evidence that they are neighbours rather than rivals.
The Totême pieces that make the case
1. Scoop neck rib tank black, $164
An earlier-season piece, still in stock, shown in black.
2. Curved rib tank in Black, $260
Made from 93% organic cotton, 7% elastane, shown in black.
3. Classic rib tank in White, $280
Made from 93% organic cotton, 7% elastane, shown in white.
4. Compact jersey top in Black, $410
Made from 81% viscose, 15% polyamide, 4% elastane, shown in black.
5. Compact knit capri trousers in Black, $570
Made from 53% viscose, 45% recycled polyamide, 2% elastane, shown in black.
6. Crinkled knit tank in Black, $570
Made from 75% viscose, 25% polyester, shown in black.
“The Totême woman doesn’t like to swap her style or wardrobe each season, she has a certain uniform that she sticks to. But then everyone wants something unique and new each season, and so does the Totême woman,” Elin Kling told WWD when the house took on Altor as a minority investor in 2021.
Frequently asked questions
Is Totême similar to The Row?
In restraint and palette, yes. The Row is more austere and three times the price; Totême is closer to fashion, with a runway, signature pieces and a fuller accessories line.
Is Totême cheaper than The Row?
Much cheaper. On Luxury Handbags the medians are $980 against $2,605.
Is The Row better quality?
The Row buys rarer fibres and skins and the make is exceptional. Totême’s wool, cashmere and calf leather are very good and the construction is clean; at a third of the price the value is with Totême on the everyday pieces.
Which has better bags?
The Row for the purist; Totême for a made-in-Italy leather tote, and a T-Lock, at a fraction of the price.
Do they fit the same?
Both cut long and clean. The Row runs generous in US sizes; Totême is true to size in EU sizes with its oversized coats flagged on the page.
Can I wear them together?
Yes, and many women do. Same palette, same restraint, and the price difference means the Totême pieces can be the ones that take the wear.
Read next
Brands like Totême Price guide Our Totême review Is Totême a luxury brand?
More Totême guides
Every Totême page by Luxury Shoes ’s fashion editor Gemma Deeks: Is it a luxury brand?, How to style, Brands like Totême, The edit, Who is Totême?, History timeline, Size guide, Shoe size guide, Price guide, Where to buy, Sale, Review, Real vs fake, Materials and care, Glossary, Who wears it, vs Khaite, Capsule wardrobe, The Signatures, Fall winter 2026, Spring summer 2026, Coats, Scarf jackets and coats, Jackets and blazers, Shearling, Knitwear, Dresses, Trousers, Jeans and denim, Skirts, Tops and shirts, Swim and beachwear, Leather, Bag guide, T-Lock bags, Belted tote, Shoe guide, Boots, Flip flops, Sneakers, Jewellery guide, Sunglasses, Scarves, Black, Camel, beige and brown, White and ivory.
Sources and method
Checked on 18 September 2026 by Gemma Deeks, fashion editor at Luxury Shoes . Product facts, the compositions, care lines, dimensions, heel heights and country of manufacture, are the brand’s own product-page text; counts, prices and price ranges are Luxury Shoes ’s live catalogue on that date and move with stock; the founders’ biography and the house history come from the brand’s own pages and the press articles listed below, each read on the date above; the size scales are the brand’s own. Where a claim could not be checked against one of these it was left out, and where the fitting room is giving its own advice the page says so.
- toteme.com, About: the house’s own description of itself, its founders and the atelier in Stockholm
- toteme.com, Sustainability: the Signatures, the design principles, the Milkywire partnership and the 2024/25 report
- toteme.com, FAQ: shipping countries, duties, payment and returns on the brand’s own store
- toteme.com, Stores: the flagship list by country
- Totême product pages: the description, composition, care, size-guide and country-of-manufacture lines of every style (1,297 pages saved between June and September 2026)
- Elin Kling on Wikipedia
- Karl Lindman on Wikipedia
- Wikidata Q4959117
- WWD, With New Investment, Totême Shoots for the Stars (2021): the Altor minority investment, growth and margin figures and the founders’ quotes
- The Telegraph, Lisa Armstrong, 24 February 2025 (via Yahoo Life): revenue, headcount, the Paris show and Elin Kling’s quotes
- Vogue Scandinavia: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden’s favourite Nordic brands
- The Business of Fashion, BoF 500: Elin Kling and Karl Lindman
- Luxury Handbags live catalogue, 18 September 2026: prices, sizes and stock
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