Preparing the big weekend sale

Geneva, Switzerland – Vintage handbags, designer suits & dresses – think Dior, Chanel, and American brands – will be for sale this weekend in Geneva and for a good cause: the Salvation Army-sponsored programs in Geneva and French-speaking Switzerland.

On Saturday 13 March the otherwise low-key store becomes a brand name vintage seller, so prepare to shop starting at 10:00.

The Armee du Salut‘s store, at 20 Route de Chene, is unpacking 60 boxes or so of their best selection of vintage clothing for men, women, and children.

The brocante‘s director, Olivier Demarchi, says they have prepared a wide selection of clothes from all decades to cater to those looking for true bargains and to please serious vintage collectors.

Demarchi, a down-to-earth, no-frills guy who says he doesn’t know anything about clothing labels is, however, an excellent businessman and bargain hunter who sees that this is a good opportunity for those in the know.

Olivier Demarchi, director of the Salvation Army store in Geneva

“Last year I was shocked when I saw that one of our employees had marked a pair of jeans for more than CHF100.” It was soon obvious that the employee knew something Demarchi did not. What the employee found out was that the jeans sold for over CHF1,000 in downtown Geneva.

“I don’t know why anyone would need a such an expensive pair of jeans, but we sold them for CHF150. Someone got a great bargain and we raised funds.”

You never know what you can find at the Salvation Army. “This week we got a Patek Philippe watch which is now in an auction house in New York.”

Not all items sell for high prices. If you’re interested in the cheapest label clothing you might want to be among the first in the store.

The lowest-priced items leave the brocante within hours, or minutes, after the doors open. Demarchi hopes those who visit the store for the first time on 13 March decide to go back. “There are always bargains,” he says.

The twice-a-year sale was created as a way to promote interest in the store and generate more income for all of the Salvation Army’s community programs which include work for at-risk youth and unemployed persons, as well as senior citizen and homeless centers.

Here you might find your next vintage

The Salvation Army, along with CSP, Caritas and Emmaus are preparing an October fashion show with local artists, politicians and designers to create vintage-inspired mode in Geneva. I will, of course, let you know when exactly.

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