A. Marchesan - Swedish mens vintage store with hundreds of 30s, 40s & 50s suits.

[Broccoli]

My hometown Stockholm actually holds one of Europes best vintage stores for golden era menswear. They have the largest selections of suits, overcoats and hats from the period that I have seen so far.
The thing is they havent been very active on the net, but things are about to change (according to the owner). A few days ago they started an instagram account in English:

@amarchesan.se

Definitely worth following if you´re into vintage classic menswear (which you probably are reading this).

They are also about to launch a webstore, but that seems to be later on.
The owner told me that they now want to make themselves available to the rest of the world and not only the Swedes. He also said that they will put a large number of suits on the coming web store.

I can give you guys a note here when it´s up and running.

 

[Rabbit]

Awesome! Do let us know when they have more web presence.

 

[Metatron]

Very welcome news! Thank you for the heads up.

 

[Papperskatt]

Well, the online store have been "coming soon" for years now so I believe it when I see it...

But seriously, it's a great store and the owner is a nice chap. I live very far from Stockholm so I'm looking forward to the day that it opens up online.

 

[Two Types]

Brilliant news.

Brocolli: if you go in the store and see any suits with a 44inch chest and 38 inch waist (pre 1950s), please let me know. What sort of prices does he charge for suits?

 

[Fastuni]

On Facebook they have an example of a grey 1950's three-piece suit, priced 4500 SEK or 485 Euros.
Broccoli have you ever bought a suit there?

 

[Fastuni]

BTW a black 1930's Swedish Paletot coat is also priced at 4500 SEK or 485 Euros at their Instagram account.

 

[Broccoli]

Yes I have. It is a NOS late 50's suit that fits me perfectly. The quality of the Swedish suits of the time is really outstanding. They are very sturdy and strong. The fabric is amazingly well draping and easily cared for.

Two Types, there might be some 1940s suits in that size, I will check.

 

[Broccoli]

About the prices, I would say that they are in the upper price range, but at the same time they have a lot of stuff that would be very hard to find anywere else (Swedish 40´s 3 piece NOS for example).
I think that the suits range from about 2000 SEK to 7000 SEK.
My NOS 2 piece late 50´s suit was 2000 SEK.
Maybe that gives you an idea.

 

[Broccoli]

Edit: 3000 SEK for my suit.

 

[Two Types]

Not cheap. Even at the lower end of the scale it would have to be a very special suit to tempt me.

 

[Broccoli]

Well everyone has their own budget. For me it was definitely worth it, a suit like the one I bought (NOS, perfect size) would take years to find at any other vintage store here in Sweden (if ever). But as I said before, the prices are in the upper range, so the store is clearly not made for bargain hunters.

Btw, taking in consideration how the store looks, the service they give you when you visit them and above all the selection of suits they have, beeing cheap on that would just be too good to be true I guess! I remember being in the store when one customer asked if the marked prices were in EUR instead of SEK.

 

[herringbonekid]

Edit: 3000 SEK for my suit.

that's £256 according to imac's currency converter. about standard for a 30s-40s suit on a ebay uk these days.
many London shops are now regularly pricing suits in the £350 - £450 range.

 

[Fastuni]

Broccolis 3000 SEK suit was late 50's.
The 30-40's stuff (particularly more "fancy" ones) are certainly a league above that.

As mentioned a black 30's overcoat is priced at 4500 SEK.

 

[herringbonekid]

ok, so London prices then, or higher.

 

[Two Types]

The overcoat price does seem incredibly high. Similar to the German ones that the company from Berlin (cinetex?) has been trying to sell on UK ebay. None of them seem to sell at those high prices. it is still relatively easy to find cheap 30s and 40s overcoats on Ebay, even in larger sizes.

These things always come down to a combination of price, size, style, condition and timing. I'd consider paying the higher prices for something that was exactly what i wanted, but only if the timing was right (i.e. as long as I had the money). If I'm going to spend good money it needs to be something that I can try on first and be certain it fits in all the right places.

Of course, if I was in Sweden, went into the shop, found the right suit, then I'd probably reach for the credit card.

 

[DamianM]

Wow, $600 for an overcoat!

His market/audience doesn't seem to be us vintage enthusiast

 

[lordwinters]

I feel I should add to this discussion. I live outside Stockholm and also frequent this store, and it is really something else. This is not a run of the mill vintage store where you can find bargains, this is a full-blown gentlemen's equippery that happens to only sell second hand, but guaranteed the best vintage you can find. The prices are higher, but as they should be in the kind of establishment this is. I would imagine that vintage efficionados should especially realise the utter quality of these old garments, and as such justify the high price. Yes, you can get lucky and find a 1930's suit at a goodwill store for next to nothing, but again these suits are worth more than that, and if you go on there you can be sure to actually find what you like and want, with a guaranteed quality.

If you you still don't think the prices are justified, buy yourself a plane ticket to Stockholm and have a gander for yourselves, Stockholm is nice in the winter.

 

[Broccoli]

That's just not any overcoat. I do not think it would be economically possible to run a store catering to bargain hunters. The prices might be slightly higher, but you are paying for not having to delve into a thousands of flea markets in order to find items like he is offering.

The coats that were referred to on ebay wouldn't be 4500 SEK at Marchesan, probably more around 2500 SEK, at least by estimation. (I´m a returning customer at both of these stores). You really can't compare a German dull post war overcoat to the bespoke Swedish one. Also, there is a huge difference in the quality of Swedish post war and post war from the countries that participated in WW2.

 

[Rabbit]

I couldn't agree more, lordwinters. I have seen merely glimpses of the store and yet I'm sure this establishment stands alone. If there was a store like this in my vicinity I wouldn't mind the prices.