Dueling Sales: GAP 25% off & BR 30% off

25% off GAP w/ GAPLOVE | 30% off Banana Republic w/ BREXCUSE

Both of these expire today, 5/22, in a way.  GAPLOVE will only get you 20% off Gap tomorrow, Wed. 5/23.

There’s been an explosion of exclusions for GAP inc. sales lately, but this one seems to have less than normal.  New Arrivals are up for the code.  So are shoes and non monogram suiting.  But just to minimize the risk of one of us going through the checkout process only to not get the discount (ain’t that a blast?) here are the key exclusions:

• Banana Republic: “Excludes Timeless Collection, Leather Apparel, Men’s Monogram Suiting, Men’s Gavin, Dawson, & Emerson pants, Men’s Bags, and SFMade.”
• GAP: “Leather and Suede Apparel, Denim Bottoms, Women’s Panties, Baby Sleepwear, Playtime Favorites, and First Favorites.“

See?  Not bad.  Free shipping kicks in at $50, you can cross pollinate between brands to get to the threshold, and returns are free in store.  And… GAP is on a roll lately.  No, really.  Here be the thises worth getting a load of:
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Gap Non Iron Gingham Shirt Slim Fit – $33.71 ($44.95)

For as popular as gingham has become, it is damn near impossible to find a gingham dress shirt for under $40.  Not a rumpled, washed shirt, but one that’s smooth enough you can wear it to work.  These might not come in neck & sleeve measurements, and white/bone colored buttons would be better, but other than that, they’re nails.  Non-iron finish makes the cotton a little stiff, but it feels decently well made.  Collar has some good width to it, and the navy on white (not navy on light blue like past GAP gingham shirts) is perfect.  And the fit?  It’s so slim that plenty of us will skip the tailor.  Applause on this one.  Size shown: Medium

 

Gap Tailored Cotton/Linen Blazer – $96.00 ($128)

And still haven’t seen this thing in person.  But word from reader Joseph is that the pics on GAP.com don’t do it justice.  BUT, he also mentioned that it has functioning sleeve buttons, and the sleeves fit him really well.  Good for Joseph, but maybe not so good for the rest of us: “Do note that i have longer arms so the perfect fit on the sleeve length was an anomaly (5’9″ with 35″ sleeve length on shirts, 6’2″ wingspan REALLY sucks when trying to shop for clothes.”  Joseph has some lonnnnng arms.

 

Gap Garment Dye 10″ Short – $33.71 ($44.95)

A 10″ rise on a pair of shorts isn’t the shortest rise out there, but man are these things comfortable.  The cotton is crazy soft, and there’s a bit of a pincord like texture on there, but it’s real subtle.  Trim but not skinny, and there’s a ton of colors to pick from.  They call them “lightweight” shorts, but make no mistake, they don’t feel thin or wispy.  Not too thick at the same time.  Might want to size down.  Size shown: 31.

 

Tailored Glen Plaid Pant in Straight fit – $44.96 ($59.95)

Hooray for straight fits.  They’re just a little wider from the knee down, with less taper, so those of us with thicker calves won’t feel like we’re wearing knee high socks when we put our pants on.  Down to $45 and they ship free thanks to the over $50 price pre code.  The feel of these is much improved over past lighter-weight GAP pants.  They don’t feel… disposable.  They’ve got some good details on them too, like a striped lining.  Fit is pretty true, but if you’re inbetween sizes, consider sizing down at the waist.  size shown:  32×30.

 

Gap Classic Tailor Fit Cotton Blazer – $59.99 ($108)

Already on sale and with the extra 25% off it gets down to $60 and ships free.  Is it perfect?  No.  Plenty of you might own the black version of this which was on sale plenty often back in early to late fall.  Don’t give too much creedance to the word “classic” here.  It fits pretty trim.  Especially through the arms.  It’s cotton, but it’s no rumpled chino by any stretch.  Much smoother with a hint (but not glare) of shine.  According to the online reviews, fits seem to be all over the place.  A medium fits my frame decently well.

 

Banana Republic Tailored Fit MicroCheck Linen Blazer – $175.00 ($250)

It’s 100% linen, so that’s why it’s priced so far above BR’s other cotton blazers from their tailored fit line.   Hard not to really like the patch pockets and lighter, almost white buttons on the front.  Huge potential for this one.  A wear it all friggin’ summer long type of blazer.  First noticed over here, yet hasn’t shown up in all brick & mortar stores yet.

 

B.R. Tailored Wool Linen Suit Jacket & Matching Pant – $266 ($380)

As positive as the customer reviews are for their 62% cotton/ 38% linen suit (in-person review is pending, standby for that) it’s not as lightweight or… uh… “linen-y” as you’d think.  It appears that on this one, which is 54% wool and 46% linen, the linen texture is much more noticeable.  Also appears to be a less yellow, lighter color described only as “tan.”  Peak lapels on this one too, so if you prefer notch, know this has that extra personality which some would rather do without.  Hacking pockets (translation: slanted).  Plenty of sizes, and the code should apply since it’s not from the monogram collection.

 

Banana Republic Jaret Suede Oxford – $84.00 ($120)

Unless they change the code exclusions, you’d think these would also be up for the discount.  Comes in three colors, looks great online, and has serious potential.  The one drawback?  The only customer review complains of quality issues.  BR shoes just don’t have the best rep when it comes to durability.  But $84 and free shipping is awfully tempting.

 

Banana Republic Straight Fit Plaid Pant – $48.65 ($69.50)

Just barely under $50, but since it’s over before the code is applies, it’ll ship free.  As crazy as plenty of us would ever want to get, but the colors of the plaid all play real well together.  Nothing too out of line, or contrasting too much with the rest of the group.  Fit is great for those who prefer 501s over 514s or anything skinnier than that.  Available in the brown leaning “khaki” shown here, and a grey leaning “charcoal”.

 

BR Tailored fit cotton blazers in Glen Plaid or Medium Blue – $138.60 ($198)

These are the next step down from the all linen micro-check.  The cotton shell is nice but not mind blowing.  It can be a little stiff to start, but after a few wears it’ll loosen up.  These are this year’s version of 2011’s light blue micro-stripe blazer.  Fit is the same.  For those who have larger shoulders and are in-between jacket sizes (say, a true 39 instead of a 38 or 40) sizing up and having it tailored is going to be the safest play.  Great to wear with white leaning pants, or, to summer up a pair of dark denim after dark.  The blue was being called “pique” for awhile there, but the fabric is nothing like a pique polo.  Tonal elbow patches on that one too.  Sizes on both are getting scattered.

Not bad from GAP huh?  B.R. keeps plugging along too.  BREXCUSE expires today, 5/22.  GAPLOVE goes from 25% off to 20% off at 11:59pm E.T. tonight.