GAP is becoming one of my very favorite places to snag some seriously cool, affordable gems. While I know there’s been a ton of buzz about Quince lately (and I get it – we’re fans of many Quince pieces)…I’ve been having just as much luck at the GAP. I especially love GAP’s 100% cotton pieces (although I’m always going to be a little salty about their linen-rayon blends), and GAP’s twists on lightweight denim just gets better & better (plaid!). And I’ll never turn my back on a pair of GAP overalls, either – they’re classic. 🙂
My biggest “issue” with the GAP (if we can even call it an issue) is that the really good stuff tends to sell out before we even have a chance to cover it. Many of my most-worn GAP pieces are never photographed or mentioned here because they’re so long gone – great for real life, certainly, but annoying for this job.
So this is our attempt to cover these GAP gems before they sell out. As we find them, we’ll update this article as quickly as possible and send out a little update in our newsletter (which you can subscribe to, here). May the odds be ever in your favor.
Our Current GAP Favorites (& A Few Skips)
Here’s the stuff we are seriously loving…and anything that absolutely broke our hearts. (I currently don’t have any skips – so far, GAP seems to be either nailing it or just ‘meh’, but we’ll start a running list of ‘meh’ at the bottom.)
1. GAP Baseball Tee + Brushed Twill Easy Wide-Leg Pants
baseball tee (m) – also in red | pinstriped pants (m, petite) | bag | ring | earrings
Easy, pull-on pants like these are one of my favorite trends for fall. They have trouser vibes, but fit more like sweatpants. 🙂 As I mentioned in my recent article about fall outfits I’m going to recreate, I’m planning on wearing these with ballet flats and sporty tees or cozy stripes. The lines here are great.
2. GAP Fitted Waist Tee + Low-Rise Double Knee 90’s Jeans
tee (m) | jeans (30 – run big) | sneakers
Laura found this seriously cool, 100% cotton tee that’s shaped to nip in at the waist. It’s a fun little change-up, and really flattering on. She found that the fit is TTS, but that it was a little tighter to get on/off. “Size up if you need a little more room in the midsection,” Laura says. “It’s a thicker cotton and not thin and stretchy, which is why I think I like the fitted part. It lays nicely on the mom bod.”
She also found these Rachel-Comey-lookalike jeans. “These feel very Rudy Jude to me,” Laura said, “but updated with the baggy fit”. Laura says they run a little big, so she’s planning to size down to a size 29 (personally, I like my jeans pretty big these days, so I’d stick with my regular size).
See more of Laura’s 90’s Inspired GAP finds, here.
3. GAP Oversized Cotton Sweater + Poplin Barrel Pants
sweater (m) | pants (m, short) | black sandals | bag | daisy ring | earrings
Quick note: These poplin parts are a perfect example of how the good stuff goes so fast as GAP. They’re annoyingly fantastic, so if they have your size left – in any color!! – I recommend snapping them up. For similar pairs, check out Mate the Label, J.Crew’s Luna Pant, or Reformation.
Now, Abby turned me onto this GAP 100% cotton crewneck sweater, and she’s right: it’s freaking fantastic.
sweater (large, tall) | shorts (29) – more sizes here | tiger’s eye shell necklace
I also own Quince’s similar cotton sweater, and I like GAP’s better. This GAP sweater is made from a really soft cotton – it almost feels snuggly – and the shape is a little longer, which means I can wear tiny little shorts or skirts underneath and the proportions are perfect.
sweater (m) | striped shorts (m) | black sandals | bag | daisy ring | earrings
I did size up to a medium, and it’s perfectly oversized. I also can’t say enough about GAP’s ‘Terra Brown’ color. It’s the most jaw-droppingly beautiful shade of brown, especially if you tend to wear cooler tones. Brown often makes me look sickly, but this one has so much richness and depth, it’s great.
4. GAP Canvas Easy Baggy Barrel Cargo Pants + Rollneck Sweater
sweater (m, petite) | pants (m, petite) | shoes | bag | daisy ring
GAP’s rollneck sweater is made from 100% cotton and feels REALLY good on – I was surprised! Unlike J.Crew’s iconic rollneck, GAP’s version has a banded waist and sleeves, which makes the whole thing drape in a really cool way, although you do lose that ‘borrowed from the boys’ vibe of J.Crew’s.
The pants are also pretty great – they’re much thicker than the poplin pants from the summer, but have a really similar shape (although calling them “cargo” is a stretch – they’re more plain than cargo-detailed). Runs TTS.
The GAP Pieces We’re On The Fence About, Have Too Much ‘Meh’, Or Outright Skip
I mean…one girl’s meh could be another girl’s good basic…but here’s our honest thoughts (which are absolutely subject to change).
1. GAP Low Rise Twill Baggy Barrel Cargo Pants: Good, But…Low?
pants (6 petite) | shoes | bag | daisy ring | vintage necklace | vintage bracelet
To be fair: I might actually like these. The twill is a softer fabric than the canvas pair, and the cargo detailing is more pronounced – thank you for that, GAP. But…these pants come in number sizes, not s/m/l so that should’ve been my first clue. Admittedly, these pants run TTS, although I’m slightly terrified to wash them. Any sort of change in the waistband/length and I’m in trouble. Normally in this situation I’d just size up a size, but….now we’ve reached the issue: these bad boys are low. Like 2003 low. And I fear that sizing up would start to dip into c-section scar territory, and that is a frontier I am not yet ready to cross.
Do with that what you will.
Gang, anything else we should absolutely try at GAP? Spill!
xo,
S
. Here's what to buy at GAP right now, tried-on & team-approved by our editors.){kind=link}