The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

Gap Design Edition White Shirts Review


As part of their Gap Design Editions, the Gap enlisted 2007 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists 3.1 Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, Michael Bastian, and threeASFOUR to design a limited edition collection of white shirts, each putting their own spin on the classic white button-down. The collection looks pretty stunning on the models in the ad above, but keep scrolling...


Here's how the shirts look on yours truly: Not good. Not good at all. Yes, I took a trip to my friendly neighborhood Gap (a very rare occurrence) to scope out the collection, and while I had a very pleasant shopping experience (I forgot how oddly relaxing the Gap can be), the four shirts I tried by Phillip Lim were sub par considering the $78 pricetag.

Lim's Bell-sleeve shirt fit best (above left), but the ruffles would be difficult to layer under a cardigan or blazer without bunching and wrinkling. The Picot button-front shirt (above right) featured an uncooperative tie detail. Sorry, but I can't be bothered with buttoning and bow-tying. Pass.


A 3/4 sleeve top (above left) felt more like a mock-up than an actual finished garment. And it had a sort of "mad scientist" vibe that I wasn't feeling. Scary. Finally, I slipped into a low-tie neck top which made me look prego. Nothing wrong with that...but it's not the look I'm after. And again with the bow - please don't ask me to tie my own bows. The results ain't pretty.

In a nutshell, I felt the collection was unflattering, fussy and stiff. There's a reason that classic white button down shirts are universally appealing - it's that classic shape, cut and silhouette. So save your $78 and spend it on a great classic that you'll wear over and over again instead.

Comments
I also saw the gap shirt collection for the first time yesterday- and immediately dropped the shirts when I saw the $78 price tag! Definitely not worth that money, ever! they look good on the models, but horrible in person, I agree!
#1 Peaches on 2008-04-21 08:49 (Reply)
hey, i saw them too yesterday!
thought they looked nice at first, even though one of them looked eerily like a fencing shirt, complete with side buttons, but when i saw the $78 price tag, i headed straight for my local tar-zhay and checked out their $17.99 offerings.
:-)
#2 maggie z on 2008-04-21 19:54 (Reply)
omg you're right! the 3/4 sleeve top looks exactly like a fencing shirt...a sport I was briefly exposed to in high-school, don't ask.
#2.1 The Budget Babe on 2008-04-21 22:55 (Reply)
this is nothing to do with fashion, but fencing. i also took a class once because it looked so elegant in the movies and then i got freaked out when people actually came at me with swords. the instructor said 'do you have a problem with the fact that this is a martial art?' YES.
end of fencing career.
the shirt brought back memories.
ha ha ha
:-)
#3 maggiez on 2008-04-22 08:56 (Reply)
I'm feel quite sorry for you having to try those on. They don't even appear to be made out of cotton or anything, more like paper! Gap has really been disappointing me lately (lately = the past three years). =\
#4 Aitch on 2008-04-22 18:43 (Reply)
I agree on the disappointment. The only thing I've loved out of gap in a long time were their leather ballet flats from last year, those were great! Now the new leather shoes they have in that designer collection are $78 a pair! If I'm going to spend that, I'm going to Bloomies,not gap.
#4.1 Peaches on 2008-04-23 10:14 (Reply)
Can you please tell me where I could get the second from left white shirt with vastly cut out armholes (pictured second from left) that was part of the gap design edition white shirts. I cannot find it anywhere. Used is OK. Too. Many thanks.
#5 Maxine Levy on 2008-06-12 11:03 (Reply)
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