oldnavy, gap etc..

Depends really. I have had good luck with Old Navy's linen/cotton blend shirts (I think DocHolliday first brought those to my attention). Some older Gap 1969 jeans were actually pretty good. Frankly afaik it is a case by case situation.
I have several of their t-shirts (wearing one today). At low prices they are certainly serviceable and I have a pair of Old Navy slim black with blue pinstripe trousers I use when going out anywhere where a drink may accidentally be poured on me.

I have no problem with either store if I can find items i like/fit

I got this varsity striped cardigan from Gap recently that was EXACTLY what I wanted, and the price is good. Oddly, the size XS fit me perfect, even a size S was too big



I've seen Gap 1969 selvage jeans that were pretty nice too.

I have 3 belts from Old Navy I wear regularly, and last spring got 3 polos from their boys section as the largest boys' polo fit me real well adn were only $10 ea.

if it looks/fits good I have no issues about where it comes from

i havent seen anything from old navy that doesnt fall apart after even moderate use. Construction wise Gap is better than H&M but stuff from the gap tends to be cut like a box so the h&m stuff usually fits a lot better.

Yeah, it depends (this extends up to Banana Republic as well). Gap's old 1969 jeans were often exceptional values on sale (which happened inevitably because they were horribly marketed); didn't last, and now Gap's calling everything 1969 and overpricing their few acceptable pairs of jeans. Gap has come out with some surprisingly cool sweaters recently. I doubt construction or materials are anything amazing, but, then again, maybe even that was good. I never saw them in person, but the designs were pretty cool. That said, a lot of their stuff is also horribly dull and cheaply constructed. You have to dig. Old Navy, oddly enough, seems to have more interesting outerwear than the Gap right now. Materials are almost undoubtedly awful, but some of the designs looked alright. You're pretty much guaranteed to need some time on a sewing machine to make it fit properly, though. Generally, I'd agree that the Gap has better construction than H&M, but that isn't always the case, and H&M has by far better designs and cuts. Hell, sometimes even better materials and prices.

I have certainly noticed the size inflation and boxiness issue in many of their clothes. To get those aforementioned shirts to fit me I had to get a small. I am not really that small, am I? What is wrong with these people? I also have looked at their belts a number of times, some look prety nice, but I keep waiting to find a nice vintage military one on eBay instead. Edit: I'll echo what Arethusa said. Banana Republic is very much that way. There was a nice peak lapel camel coloured overcoat I had really liked a year or so ago, until I saw it up close. There were these huge "pickstitching" marks on the lapel that made it look like it was stapled together! Really disappointing. On the other hand from teh same year I got on sale a nice camel coloured car coat that I absolutely love. And a pair of nice brown almost PDC GTO shaped brown cords hidden in the a sales rack at the back.

there's a couple that I like and would buy but I'm not needing anymore sweaters...there's some potential here to look really good

Here's some of the decent looking Old Navy outerwear I was talking about. This jean jacket isn't exactly mind blowing, but does look alright. This M65-alike isn't too terrible either, at least for $30. This blazer also isn't too bad. Materials aren't going to be great (especially the "tweed" that's 40% wool and sounds utterly awful), but the design's ok, not particularly inventive. Most of the rest of it wasn't any good, and fits at any of the three Gap stores tend to be precision crafted by third world sweatshop artisans to turn you into a box, but you might be able to size down to get a good fit. If not, you could always borrow a sewing machine if you don't have one. As for the Gap, I actually thought this sweater was kind of neat. It's horribly overpriced at 120, but you might find it for a decent price on sale. This cotton/wool/nylon hoodie's alright too, though I can pretty much guarantee that you'll need to have the sides tailored in if you want any kind of a waist at all. In terms of outerwear, most of the Gap's stuff is pretty dull. This is a copy of a Levi's Type 1 jean jacket, which is a design I've never liked, and the denim's probably not any good either. This M65-alike is better, and actually is kind of a cheap copy of a W+H M65 from this season. Still, neither piece ever did much for me, and this one certainly less so. In terms of jeans, the Gap doesn't really fare too well either. Worse, even. These slim fit selvage jeans look alright, but at 100, I think I'd rather just find a 20 somwhere and get a pair of APC Rescues from Mauro. There's just no way they're worth what the Gap's asking right now. There's a washed version of the same. That's just an even worse deal. There are, to be fair, some slim, straight cut and boot cut twill pants that look ok. Hard to tell without trying them on; I don't know if they're worth $50. And that really is the only stuff worth paying attention to at the Gap and Old Navy. It's not all bad, but if your budget is tight"” and, believe me, I know that's like"” you can still probably find better things else where. Watch stores like J Crew for sales. Comb local thrift shops for decent pieces. Generally, you may want to pick up a few things at the Gap like those slim twill pants or maybe a decent looking sweater, but you're probably better served in most cases by H&M in that price range and, of course, judicious shopping around at better stores during sales. Jeans are a bit more complicated, but you can find really nice jeans like Earnest Sewn on sale from time to time as low as 80-100, which certainly beats the shit out of anything the Gap offers at the same price. If you want to and can spend a little more, you can find APCs around 120 and cheaper Japanese Levi's reproductions around 150 (Samurai, Sugarcane, Johnbull). If not, H&M makes some pretty decent jeans for 20-50 (low quality, but they look nice and fade fast), and if you're in the NYC/NJ area, Uniqlo makes some very high quality stuff in the same price range if you don't mind more relaxed cuts.

Maybe those are decent but I agree that 50 is double what I would pay for them at most. Now the analogous items at BR are NOT slim on my legs contrary to what their website says. Have not tried on the Gap/Old Navy versions.

I think Arethusa nailed it. His choices are about the best you can do there. Out of habit, I stop in at The Gap every few weeks or when I walk by one. I occasionally find something I like, but won't buy it unless it's on sale. Like others have said, fit is very boxy. I think they are casting the widest net possible (in terms of body shapes and style tolerances). I think construction is pretty decent at least on most of the stuff I've found.

BTW I heard a segment on NPR Marketplace about what a bad position The Gap is in right now (actually for the last 4 years). Seems that they've become "uncool" and are having to compete with more "fashion-forward" chains such as H&M and Abercrombie & Fitch (according to the reporter). I have never thought of The Gap as "cool" but I suppose in trying to be everything to everyone, they lost a unique point of view. They're trying though: they are now selling Chuck's and Rogues-Gallery-esque graphic tees. Too bad they're kinda cheesy.

I would also second the recommendation for thrift shopping. Takes a little work, but you can find some unique, designer or well-made stuff for pennies. (um, well, dollars).

basic essentials are the only thing i ever enter an gap or h&m (zara, old navy, banana republic, et al) seriously considering. blank t-shirts, socks, etc. everything else, i'm not even going to knock their designs, some of the stuff people have posted here looks nice, but i just can't bring myself to pay full price for any of it. $80 for a banana republic sweater or spend $20 more and get something much more styled, constructed much better and something i'm not going to see on every other jerk around town.

sales though, all bets are off and i'll buy everything in sight from anywhere.

Skalogre, I liked those ON cotton-linen shirts enough that I ended up with three of them, between the one I bought at full retail (!) and two more I picked up on clearance. Glad you liked 'em too. Mine have held up surprisingly well so far.

It's that type of little gem that keeps me stopping in at ON, and, for that matter, Gap and BR. Found some very nice gloves at BR last winter, on deep discount. And picked up a perfectly serviceable pair of khakis at Gap for $7 the other day. There's a lot of dross, sure, but that's true of most stores.

Generally, I have the best luck when I'm looking for nothing in particular.

Doc, I also love those shirts, I am happy youpointed them outto me. I even got one for my brother when he was visiting me. Well,I have one in brown, one in white and one in off-white. Well the off-white was natural, my wife accidentally dropped in with the white washing and bleach got on it. So I bleached it allthe way through

I really like



Does anyone else make a hoodie like this? I am probably going to go check it out but chances are it looks kind of cheap and who knows how it feels - cashmere/nylon/wool? Strange combo.

I might buy it if it dips below 60 or 70 bucks.