Shopping at The Gap
I touched everything IRL so you don't have to.
I love mass retailers. They are fashion’s great equalizer! I have long been a believer that it doesn’t matter where things come from, it’s how you wear them. People who care about a label care about vanity in a way that is not style-first and I don’t think that’s cool at all. It’s a very underdeveloped way to think about style and taste! Good clothes are good clothes!
With that said: We need to talk about The Gap! I wore a lot of Gap growing up. I remember every t-shirt, sweatshirt, and fragrance (the latter usually left behind!). My first big Gap purchase was a baby pink fleece sweatshirt with the iconic GAP Athletics logo across the front. I wore it all the time. There were vests and overalls, flip flops, and bathing suits over the years. I also remember either my mom or my grandma got me the mismatched striped scarf. It was the highlight of my Christmas that year.
There was still a sense of aspiration in its simplicity at The Gap’s peak, which took a turn around 2002. But the success of the Gap can’t just be credited to the clothes: It was the store aesthetic, the For Everybody messaging, the music–I think you can even find a “vintage” Gap playlists wherever you stream music!–and the visuals. The photography and talent from Gap ads transcended the moment and it’s absolutely incredible how modern and relevant they feel in 2024. I guess a Meisel image doesn’t really age badly or at all, but I digress!
In the last few months, I have returned back to The Gap–in part because of some new campaigns lead by a new creative team–to get back to basics. I have been to the store, skimmed the site, touched things IRL, tried on multiple sizes. I did the leg work so you don’t have to. Below are 3 things you need to buy right now. I promise it will be worth it.
Organic Cotton Button Fly '90s Original Straight Fit Jeans, $31
This isn’t my first time going off about these. This denim is super soft but sturdy, which is so hard to come by! I don’t like stretch denim. I like thick cardboard, vintage Levi’s. These–and Feel Studio but really different price point–are the only happy medium I’ve found without The Hunt process. I finally got the courage to pull the trigger on these after Anna, who I follow on Instagram, said they were the best jeans she owns. Like I said, good taste knows no bounds! It takes a lot for me to be truly hashtag influenced, so I definitely had high hopes for the outcome of my purchase.
I have these in both super oversized and “true to size” which is still 2-3 sizes up because men’s denim is cut super straight and…most women are not shaped as such. I also loooove that you can buy men’s pants in lengths. So major! We need this in women’s clothing. I have both the Medium Wash and Black.