I recently made a bad financial decision. I went into Banana Republic after getting a haircut and ended up spending two hours and $200 on clothes. They had one of those 40% off everything sales where I always forget how bad math is.
I left with a merino jumper I probably didn’t need and a nagging sense of guilt shopping at places I used to dismiss as “basic.” Don’t get me wrong – I still won’t be caught dead in Abercrombie & Fitch. But here’s the thing I took way too long to learn – Gap Inc. brands (Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic for anyone keeping score at home) make some quality products. They just require some sifting through to find the stuff worth buying.
There’s still a ton of junk they churn out that falls apart after two wears. I’ve been sporadically shopping at these stores for about five years now.
Once I realised that <a href=”https://joewears. co.uk/thrift-store-treasure-hunter-finding-designer-labels-at-goodwill-prices/”>putting together a quality wardrobe</a> was going to require some serious strategizing on a marketing coordinators salary.
Sometimes you need that $300 shirt from that heritage brand you’ve heard of. But sometimes. And hear me horrified menswear purists gasp in disbelief, you just need a $30 shirt from Gap that does the same damn job.
Thing is, none of these stores make it easy to know what’s worth buying. They’ll throw a quality oxford cloth button-down shirt right next to something made of polyester that looks about 90% the same. You just have to know where to look.
And by “you have to know,” I really mean I learned by buying a lot of shitty clothes. To make up for completely eviscerating two of my favourite brands, let me tell you where to find the good stuff at each store. I’ll start with Gap, because it’s basically the middle child of the three.
As previously stated, I have bought way more clothing from Gap than I care to admit. Probably because there’s one three blocks from my office and I have no self control when it comes to lunchtime shopping trips. But their basic t-shirts are actually great.
They have a few vintage wash tees that I bought two years ago that still look good after hundreds of washes. Fit is consistent, unlike other brands, and they don’t shrink up like some cheap shirts. Gap actually excels at denim.
I know, hear me raw denim aficionados gasp in horror. Their 19ho jeans, especially the Japanese selvedge options when they’re available, bang for way beyond their price weight. I have a pair of their straight selvedge jeans that I got on sale for $80 and honestly have held up better over time than some $200 pairs I’ve bought.
Stick to the classic fits and don’t order any weird washed or distressed stuff. Their button-downs are all over the place. They make some great oxford cloth ones – I have a white one I bought a few years ago that’s lasted me through probably three years of weekly wear.
But their dress shirts are rubbish. Thin material that doesn’t wear well and nearly every shirt I’ve bought runs weird in sizing. Learned that lesson one time when I bought three “exact same shirt in different colours” online and none fit me the same.
Old Navy is a weird anomaly because they’re basically Gap’s clearance cousin. Everything’s ALWAYS on sale for some reason, but they occasionally slap something great out there. Old Navy’s basic chinos are actually surprisingly good.
I picked up a pair in olive last year for $20 and they’ve been a frequent addition to my rotation since. Fit is good, material has some heft to it, and they don’t look cheap. Same story with their tees.
Simple crew necks are great, but stay away from the graphic ones or weird cuts. I bought a whole pack of their soft-washed tees last summer to use as workout shirts and ended up wearing them as regular shirts because they just felt better than some of the pricier “basics” I owned. Sometimes their accidents are better than their intentions.
But Old Navy also makes some legitimately horrible shit. Their dress shirts are trash. Super thin material you know is cheap the second you touch it that will also wrinkle if you glance at it wrong.
Same thing for most of their jumpers. They all feel synthetic even when the label clearly says cotton blend. And while their jeans are cheap?
They always look cheap. You get what you pay for with a lot of their stuff, but occasionally you get way more than you pay for which makes checking in worth your while. Surprisingly enough, I’ve had the most success shopping at Banana Republic.
Probably because they market themselves as some “higher end” brand than the other two. Their merino jumpers are great. I picked up a few over time that have held up well with proper care.
Wool feels good, they don’t pill like crazy, and sizing is consistent between colours/styles. I want to give a special nod to their chinos as well. They might be the best value you can get at any mainstream brand.
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Aiden fit is great on me, fabric has weight to it, and they come in enough colours to get you a full wardrobe. I’d estimate I own six pairs of their jeans at this point, acquired over a couple years of watching the sales rack. They’re overpriced at full price, sure.
But bananas constantly have sales, so at 40% off you’re beating most brands that charge twice as much. Speaking of their sales, BR’s wool trousers are actually fantastic. I picked up a pair in charcoal to wear for job interviews a few years ago and they’ve held up great with regular wear.
They wrinkle less than some trousers I’ve owned twice the price, actually fit me off the rack (say what, Banana Republic?! ), and overall just feel high-quality. Their button-downs are solid, not great. Better than Gap’s but not on-par with something you’d buy from a dedicated shirt maker.
But they work for casual Fridays or weekend outings. The non-iron dress shirts are great for travelling as well, despite “non-iron” obviously being Gap’s way of saying “less wrinkled than normal.” If I had to take away one thing from shopping at these brands for years, it would be that timing is everything. Seriously.
All three brands have sales literally all the time. Buying anything full price is just throwing your money away. If you can stomach the endless emails, sign up for their newsletters.
They’ll let you know when they have legitimately good sales vs trying to convince you 50% off is a deal. Stick to the basics. Plain white t-shirts, classic fits of chinos, basic crew neck jumpers.
These brands do those things excellently. Try and convince me their weird ass colour blocked hoodie would look good on you? Give me a hard pass.
The plain dark blue merino jumper? That I’ll wear on repeat. Messageboards will try and convince you that you can find quality things at these stores if you know what you’re looking for.
Yeah yeah that sounds real helpful. Meanwhile I’m here showing you exactly what to look for. Quality control is hit or miss, particularly at Old Navy.
I find myself grabbing multiple sizes of the same item online now because sizes will sometimes vary between oddly sized stocks of the same shirt. And always double cheque return policies. Got annoyed one time when I bought a whole slew of shirts from Old Navy online that looked fine but felt cheap as hell in person.
I will also add that I’ve found these stores to be great for experimenting. Trying to add some colour to your wardrobe but aren’t sure if you can pull it off? That $25 shirt from Gap is a lot easier to justify than that $100 shirt from J.Crew.
I’ve found some of my favourite colours and fits by being willing to splurge on them with cheaper versions first. With that said, there are definitely things you shouldn’t buy from these brands. Don’t touch their formal wear.
Those Banana Republic blazers look like you’re wearing a cardboard box on your shoulders. Shoes are universally trash across all brands. And stay away from anything that has premium materials or needs to be tailored.
These brands can do basics really well, but anything outside of that requires too much finessing to be worth it. But if you’re looking to fill out your foundation wardrobe with pieces that you can throw curated pieces on top of? These stores are actually wonderful.
I’d wager probably close to 30% of my wardrobe is Gap Inc. apparel mixed with brands that are triple the cost. And honestly, no one knows the difference when it’s all thrown together right.
I could’ve spent way less money over the years had I known these tricks when I first started shopping at these stores.
I learned the hard way by buying lots of weird prints and trendy items I ended up never wearing. That asymmetrical shirt I thought looked cool? Wore once.
Those crazy overdyed jeans? washed funny and disappeared. But that basic white Oxford shirt I bought that day? Still going strong three years later.
So moral of the story, don’t completely dismiss these stores. They’ve got smarter about playing into the hype cycle, sure. But if you know what you’re looking for at each store you can score some truly awesome pieces that’ll last you years.
Rule of thumb: buy basics, and never buy anything at full price. Your bank account will thank you, and I doubt your closet will suffer.
