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Original poster

Gap - what the heck?

73 replies

PowerPantsRule · 27/08/2017 08:43

Has anyone looked at Gap recently? They have jacked up their prices hugely (cardigans now £75, jumpers £50) and stopped using such nice materials: everything is nylon and polyester. I used to go there for 100% cotton sweaters, instead, the place is filled with nasty floral dresses and nylon mix tops.

The jeans are still good but expensive....the shop looks like a jumble sale, with various offers, showing their price point is wrong.

I think it's dying a death - so sad. it used to be one of my 'go to' shops.

OP posts:
SwedishEdith · 27/08/2017 13:16

I think they've improved lately. Far less polyester than in recent years.

NerrSnerr · 27/08/2017 13:27

I wear a sweatshirt with Gap on it. I'm happy being terribly unfashionable though.

fivefour3twoone · 27/08/2017 15:21

I get the same daily offers it's ridiculous.

I've actually been trying to place an order for my toddler the past few days but the websites not working for me so I'm not impressed!

I have a few tops from gap at the mo but every time I put them on I feel they cheapen my look, I want to chuck them away really but I feel like they should be good quality given they're gap. I've always worn gap and historically it's been fantastic, I only shop online now but agree it seems like a total jumble sale with lots of cheap materials. Such a shame :-(

SnickersWasAHorse · 27/08/2017 15:29

Our GAP closed down a few years ago.
I don't really miss it to be honest.
You can buy khakis and white shirt most places now.....

PovertyJetset · 27/08/2017 15:32

Their fitness stuff is good and cheap, and they have some good accessories when stocked and I loved their solid perfumes the use does to do ages ago. They had one called Om in a little tin that fitted in my pocket smelled divine and I used ALL THE TIME.

If I can find them, their underwear is very good.

Girls clothes- good
Boys- dire and sized for giants.

Men- dire, DH thinks it's for rugby players with a style bypass. I have to agree!

Baby- still cute! But getting very gendered.

BlueEyedWonder · 27/08/2017 16:11

I noticed the price hike on their new AW stuff that is appearing online.

I still like GAP for basics and there are natural fibres still to be found: denim, cotton shirts, merino wool jumpers.

I assumed the price hike was because they send me daily 35% - 40% off offers and therefore no one actually pays the ridiculously high prices they start at??

faustina · 27/08/2017 17:00

I still like it too, although I'd never bother to go into an actual shop - I buy it all online. It's particularly good for petite sizing for everything, unlike most other shops, and if you look past the tat, they still have a lot of (good thick) cotton and merino wool etc

bruffin · 27/08/2017 17:02

Gap have always been overpriced. The prices on the american site were always less in dollars than the poound prices here.

BlueEyedWonder · 27/08/2017 17:03

Agree @Faustina, the petite range fits me well and they have a good selection. I get fed up that Boden don't do many tops or any knitwear in their petite range.

IfYouGoDownToTheWoodsToday · 27/08/2017 17:23

I'm so sad about Gap. They used to be my go to place for all the basics, for me and dds. It just looks like a jumble sale nowSad. Our local gap has also jus changed into an Outlet. Does that mean it will be all out of season stuff?

gilmoregirl · 27/08/2017 17:35

Totally agree! I used to buy so much stuff in gap-for work and casual, but every time I go in now I come out empty handed. The sizing used to fit me well but all the dresses I have tried on recently are such a weird shape - no waist at all! So very unflattering unless you are a super willowy model type...

I only like natural fabrics and so much stuff is polyester shudder I can buy better quality stuff at h and m.

Used to love the kids stuff but seems so expensive now.

HappyHoppy · 28/08/2017 09:36

Agree - the pricing is very erratic. I bough this last week www.gap.co.uk/browse/product.do?cid=1076067&vid=1&pid=000845379001 except it was £34.95 base price with 40% off, not £44.95.

ThomasHardyPerennial · 28/08/2017 11:27

I absolutely love their trench coats and buy at least one a year, they are great for coats and jackets. Dh buys all his boxers, chinos, and jeans from Gap. They used to have a large store in Leeds (4 floors) but it closed last year, which was pretty strange at the time. Their sizing can be erratic, which makes buying online frustrating.

dudsville · 28/08/2017 12:06

I loved Gap when I was a kid. We could never afford to shop there so when I became an adult this was a shop I liked to go in. But it always like a jumble sale in there, as pp said, and I still buy 100% cotton things from there but the quality is poor so i wait for a sale when it's ok if a £20 jumper only lasts one winter.

bananafish81 · 28/08/2017 12:20

I don't get anything from GAP now, uniqlo all the way. Better quality and better value

PerfumeIsAMessage · 28/08/2017 18:23

The knitwear is dreadful. Both Primark and Matalan is better quality. I foolishly ordered about 7 jumpers of varying styles and knits in their sale last winter and every single one is shit.

DarkDarkNight · 28/08/2017 18:42

They could do with a good edit, there's just too much stuff to wade through. They're trying to be all things to all people.

I loved the baby rompers and knitwear when my son was young. I still love the pyjamas for him and he's had a couple of nice army jackets. I had a perfect dark marl grey v neck t shirt for him 2 years go that went with everything. I'm still looking for a replacement.

BikeRunSki · 28/08/2017 18:51

Our local Gap closed a few years ago, when lots did. I quite liked it, and got quite a bit for me and the DC there. I occasionally pass an outlet store, which is very hit and miss on what they have in. I also get there daily discount offers, buy a bit, but they use a courier whose nearest depot is something like 40 miles away which is a problem if you miss the delivery, and they take weeks to refund.

I went to a training day in a town I rarely visit a few weeks ago, and was massively excited to see a Gap near the station. Excitement rapidly fell to crashing disappointment when I went it and it was like a more jumble saley version of Primark, but only in subtle tones of grey and denim! And with a lot more polyester .

I really liked them say 10 years ago. Good basics, natural fibres. Not cutting edge fashion by any means, but not dowdy either. Their knickers were great.

BikeRunSki · 28/08/2017 18:52

I wish Uniqlo had a shop in Yorkshire or Manchester.

Melabela10 · 28/08/2017 20:48

I don't like Gap and never did, it's not my style, very simple items one could possibly find in Primark. Quality is a mixed bag.
I think they always have a sale on and even if they don't you can sign up for their emails and they will bombard you with daily emails with discounts
Recently got 3 pairs of trousers for walking and causal days out on a sale holy crap it is, material expands as you wear it and need to wash them to shrink them after each wear

TSSDNCOP · 28/08/2017 21:01

Ah, I have found a place to have a good rant.

Yes, it has become very, very shit. Occasionally, there will be a nice something in cotton.

My biggest rant though is reserved not for the pricing because their continuous absurd discounts take care of making it look like a continuous firesale. It screams of going out of business in a way that makes you wonder if you'd actually be able to take advantage of a 28 day refund policy.

It is the utter fuck up they've made of their store in Bluewater. In consolidating three sites into one they've rendered it unshoppable. Their store designer clearly hates parents of boys, and has relegated that pathetically small section to the back furthest corner.

The counter is at the back, and typically woefully understaffed so you are constantly fighting through this line to even reach the boys section.

The staff don't tidy anything up. Why should they when through the screaming lack of give a shittedness demonstrated by the store designers means it's like holding back the tide.

It is the worst designed, thought out, poorly managed shop in Bluewater. It is worse than WH Smith for its lack of retail direction and inattention to pricing thus wilfully taking itself right out of existence.

Sonotkylie · 28/08/2017 21:12

Agree about the annoying discounting and that it has been going down hill - both fabric quality and dull design. Sizing always seems all over the place - I vary from a size 8 or XS P to a size 14 or L Tall in everything. But in the last couple of months I have found decent cotton long sleeve t shirts that wash well and don't look like rags, lovely pyjamas and shirts. I was hoping they were improving ... I don't buy jeans there anymore though. Asos are better.

DisorderedAllsorts · 28/08/2017 23:00

I've switched from GAP to Uniqlo for my basics in natural fabrics at an affordable price. Uniqlo seem to have filled the void that Gap has left behind.

TSSDNCOP · 28/08/2017 23:13

YY to Uniqlo re adult stuff, have just bought ace new denim jacket.

Their boys range is shite though.

SylviaPoe · 28/08/2017 23:24

What is the sizing like at Uniqlo? What is a 14 in Uniqlo sizing?