STORE WARS: Bonobos vs. GAP
Starting March 19th and running through April 8th, Dappered.com is hosting a bracket based tournament with the purpose of eventually crowning the all around Affordable Men’s Style Retail Champ for 2013. For a full introduction see this post. The bracket on the right will be updated as the tournament progresses. Click on it for the full size. Make a case for your preferred competitor in the comments section, but don’t forget to vote at the bottom of each match up. On with today’s showdown:
Strengths: Their presence as a brand. Yes they’re a business that’s there to make money, but they’re one of the few retailers out there that don’t act like their sole focus is separating you from your cash. They seem to be driven more by happiness than dollars and cents (how hell bent for cash must you be if you’re taking the time to produce, photograph, and promote these things?). Incredible customer service. The Ninjas know what they’re doing. The fit of their pants is still lauded by many. Made in the USA travel denim. The standard fit of the oxfords which now come in an additional even trimmer fit. Shopping experience online is (now) terrific, and many have taken advantage of their Guideshops. Curation of 3rd party merchandise is well done… Bonobos sells lots of great brands. And finally, the re-emergence of the every-once-in-awhile extra 30% off sale items code has been a welcome return.
Weaknesses: Expensive. Were talking $88 for their washed chinos. $65 for shorts. $300 trench coats. $600 blazers (super 160s? Whoa that’s up there). They seem to have gotten past the once frustrating web experience of not knowing what sizes were available at a quick glance, and the crashing of their site during major sales. Oxfords are no longer made in Philadelphia.
Strengths: Ol’ reliable. Every once in awhile they hit a home run with a cotton blazer or a piece of outerwear. Their basic leather belt in brown and black continues to be one of if not the best bang for your buck leather casual belt on the market. Their slim (if you’re real slim) and straight fit (if you’ve got some meat to your frame) denim washed chinos and thicker fabric 5-pocket pants are almost always a good bet. Every summer they put out a couple of good, interesting polos. Lots of sales.
Weaknesses: So basic that they can get extremely forgettable. To the point that plenty of us have started breezing right past their brick and mortar locations while on the way to something else. One way they’re trying to spice things up is through a partnership with GQ and their Designers of the Year, but last year that seemed to fall flat for plenty. Like big brother B.R. (and little brother Old Navy), they’re perpetually on sale, so you better be good with playing the codes and coupons game. Sometimes their sweaters can feel flimsy compared to B.R. In danger of becoming a bubble store next year.
Your votes determine who goes on to the next round. Cast your ballot below. Voting closes at midnight ET.
UPDATE: And after being neck and neck for most of the day, Bonobos comes through at the wire.
Store Wars: Bonobos vs. Gap
- Bonobos (54%, 1,127 Votes)
- Gap (46%, 963 Votes)
Total Voters: 2,089
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I feel as if Bonobos pulled a big bait and switch on us who followed the Brand from the beginning. I’m still bitter about it.
Yea…Bonobos’ quality is great…actually all I own from them are golf pants, which are really nice. But their colors are way bold and none of them have sold me yet. And their pricing is way high…a bit too high for me to care.
I’m voting for Gap solely on the basis of their slim fit non-iron shirts. The absolute perfect fit for me.
I’m sure I would love Bonobos…if I could ever afford to buy their clothes.
Gap gets my vote on this one, even though I don’t love them.
I got two pairs of bonobos pants last year. The Italian fabric is beautiful, but the price is high and both of their waist size 28 dress pants appear too roomy for me. And I ended up paying 30 dollars to get them tailored. My vote goes to Gap. Their basic apparel is decent and they fit relatively well. I appreciate the fact that some of their items are catering towards small-framed population now.
Im a size 28 as well and was thinking about trying Bonobos pants but in the reviews people said they were not slim enough. The only OTR pants that fit in the legs for me are Express and LE Canvas cords. So are bonobos going to be too baggy?
GAP gets my vote- they do the basics well
Hi Kevin. Unfortunatly, What you have heard is true. In the past I had trouble finding pants that fit me well. I’m 5’9″, 128 lb, jacket size 34R, 28 for waist siz, and i usually stick with european high fashion brands (like Etro). Just a heads up, I don’t have chicken legs. For me, Even 514 jeans appear roomy from thigh to calf. Though Levi’s 511 in 28x 30 fits me well. I think topman’s skinny fit pants work well on me as well. Just steer clear from some of their eccentric stuffs with crazy patterns, and you will be fine. Also a cheap tailor is a great option. If you are looking for suit pants, try Suitsupply. I just spent over $1300 last week at their NYC soho store. The tailors there know exactly what they are doing. Hope that helps
Ugh. No and no, please. Can I just vote for jcp again?
Bonobos by a long shot. Their stuff is expensive, but it’s worth every penny. I used to go through pants so quickly. Since I filled out my collection with theirs, I don’t need or care for more. They also run plenty of sales and have the best customer service of any company I’ve ever patronized. By comparison, GAP is just a dolled-up sweatshop of unimaginative clothes.
I voted for jcp three times yesterday, on iPad, laptop, and iPhone. Lol
Can you elaborate?
Tough matchup as I’m currently wearing Bonobos pants and a GAP sweater… but Bonobos offering the referral system combined with their 30% off sale items always ends up being a huge boon to my wardrobe.
Thanks for the info! I am 5’5 and 125 lbs (runner/swimmer). Pants- 28 (29 in some) and my suits are Brooks Bros (milano/fitzgerald), pants are typically express (ok quality, great fit but the sizing is always messed up- 28 fits like 30 in the waist). Levi im 511, I do have a cheap tailor that I go to for slimming most of my purchases, Suitsupply is opening a store in Philly in April so Ill have to go check them out. Lands’ End has fit me suprisingly well in cords but not so much chinos. Tough finding sutff that is slim enough!
I have given Bonobos multiple chances and have been mostly disappointed. After hearing muliple lines being pimped as Made in the USA, I found everything to be made elsewhere (mostly China but my travel jeans were from Egypt) The fit was okay but if I want decent fitting, foreign made clothes, I’ll look for cheaper (hello JCP!)
Gap has been pretty lackluster the past few years but I have picked a few nice things up. This should be a slam dunk because something in between Old Navy and Banana Republic is my comfort zone, price and quality wise.
I’ll still pick Gap
I wish you had. They lost yesterday
Gonna vote Gap here.
However, I am in the market for some new chinos so I might buy some from Bonobos to see if the fit is “legendary and awesome” enough to warrant the price tag.
Voting Bonbobos solely because they have separate collar and arm length sizing. Fantastic for us tall slim fellows who are always suffering from either short arms or a baggy overall fit.
I haven’t gotten anything from Bonobos and only a belt from Gap. I haven’t shopped at Gap in years- clothes just seemed cheap and disposable- but re-vamping my wardrobe made we re-think my logic. Bonobos seems like it should be good quality stuff but it is expensive and in some areas a little too trendy for me. But since my mantra has been about quality and affordable outfitters- since I know the quality of Gap and it still doesn’t live up to the value unlike Bonobos, although I do not knowing first-hand what Bonobos is like, I I do know many people on here and other forums praise Bonobos quality. Thus far, people on the forums haven’t steered me wrong in recommendations and thier opinions have generally been in line with my own on quality and value. Since I do know what Gap is like and while I have re-considered my previous thinking about Gap clothing, I still have only bought a belt from them in the past 10 weeks while Old Navy and BR have gotten far more than that. In the end, gotta go with Bonobos with the benefit-of-the-doubt.
I did my part but it wasn’t enough. Typecasting be damned, I have 4 different pairs of Stafford wingtips. I thing yesterday’s matchup was too big for the first round.
CHEATER! (Didn’t help in the end. Target won. JCP just can’t catch a break).
Exactly, I LOVE my bonobos jeans. So soft and fit me wonderfully. I’ve resolved to never buy another pair of jeans anywhere else. I still need to try their graham slackers.
Only problem is I ordered one of their shirts and wasn’t all too crazy with the length, but I am pretty tall.
I think for most guys that don’t want to invest a ton of money in clothing, GAP is a huge asset. Most of their standard button ups and chinos are pretty great quality. Anything from the 1969 denim or selvage collection will be awesome and hold up great. The real issue is finding your size at GAP, once you find your sweet spot you can cherry pick their sales for great quality stuff.
I worked for the Gap for more than 5 years so I have a hard time paying for anything even close to retail from them, those 50% off employee purchases really spoiled me. I have also noticed how their prices have crept up over the last ten years without them adding any value to their product. So if they are really good at basics, why pay more for them than you have to.
I also have never shopped at Bonobos, so I guess I can really vote in this round.
Bonobos can be good if you catch a decent sale and their jeans are great, but you are right, the price is a turn off in a lot of cases. I am leaning Gap myself. This is a tough one! Lol
Or for us bigger, shorter-armed fellows, who are always suffering from too-long arms, or are unable to actually button our collars.
So many great pants to try. Which type of jeans did you get? If you don’t have a pair, I highly recommend their travel jeans. Amazing…. That being said, I’m not a big fan of their shirts, at least from 2012. Collars are weird.
Bonobos runs a bit expensive for me, but their pants are some of the only pants I’ve found with a medium rise that is *actually* a medium rise, as opposed to a low(ish) rise masquerading as medium. Plus, they send me funny YouTube videos. So they’ve got my vote.
I’ve never actually bought anything from Bonobos, but I’m voting for them out of pure disillusionment with GAP. The wife and I usually stop there when we’re at a local mall, but I haven’t found myself wanting to buy anything (even if it’s on sale), for going on two years now.
My experience: Fabric quality has fallen off a cliff. Clothes used to be made 100% in USA. Now it’s outsourced to China, Thailand, India — but still priced as if made in Manhattan. They made the switch without any notice.
I used to buy a lot from them in 2008. My last order in 2011 cured me from ordering from them again.
Dappered, affordable men’s style. You can’t get much more affordable then the Gap, unless you’re talking about Old Navy. Gap gets my vote today.
GAP clothes just fit me badly. I’ve never bought anything from Bonobos at full price (which means I’ve purchased a lot fewer things in the last year and a half or so) and at sale prices, they are pretty good. Quality, fit and customer service are all VERY good. GAP has them beat only on 1 metric: price.
Voted for Bonobos. Not because I love them, but more so that Gap is just forgettable like Joe said. Most of the time the pricing difference between Gap and BR is minimal, so I rather get the BR version.
Bonobos, as others have said, is a bit expensive for what it is. $448 for a blazer? I’d rather get J. Crew for ~$300 on sale. $88 for a pair of chinos (which I’ve tried and returned)? I’d rather get BR that is 80-90% of the way there fit/material-wise for 40% of the price. I am going to try their wool trousers though because I don’t care for the BR wool pants.
I picked up those San Diego vintage straight legs when they were on sale. Love em! feel great and look good. I’ve heard plenty of good things about their travel jeans though. Have to try them.
Gap is incredibly plain and boring. Nothing there excites me. And on top of that you have to play the perpetual sale game.
Bonobos is expensive, but I’ve found the quality to be good, sales are frequent but not perpetual, the clearance section is usually well stocked, and the referral system is solid. They also carry pants in odd waist sizes other that 31″ and 33″ which is nice for me (35″). I also like the bold designs Bonobos does, though some can be misses for sure.
I figure support the smaller upstart with great customer support, a 365 day no questions asked return policy, and they actually make interesting clothes in addition to the basics that Gap does (and Uniqlo does better).
I’m going to go with the GAP on this one solely off of price and accessibility.
Country of origin seems to vary a lot at Bonobos. They have some stuff that still made in the USA (Travel Jeans for $98), I bought some wool trousers over the winter that were Canadian made, and I have some pants made in pre-revolution Egypt. I’ve never gotten anything from Bonobos made in China, Thailand, or India – but it wouldn’t surprise if some items are.
They started offering a Slim Cut in their pants a few months back. They now have a boot cut, straight leg, and slim cut. The slims are tapered past the knee while the straight legs are not.
Gap gets my vote due to Bonobos’ international shipping. $70-90 to ship a pair of pants to Canada? No thanks…especially since anything made in the USA is duty free.
Gap gets my vote. $46 for a pair of their selvage jeans during F&F. Can’t beat that.
Bonobos all the way. I look at the amount of money I have spent at GAP over the years versuses the amount I have spent at Bonobos. Bonobos is a premium price relative to GAP but here’s the catch. Of all the stuff I have ever bought at the GAP, I have maybe one or two items actually in my rotation. Every item except a pair of travel jeans ( oxfords, chino’s, and denim ) that I have purchased at Bonbobos is used on a daily basis. To me, that makes the price difference immaterial. Bonbos is so much better quality and fit for me.
How do you like the wash color? I actually like jeans that have some fading too them.
The past several years, I have picked up about 10 pieces from Bonobos, mostly pants and shirts, and they were all made elsewhere. Chinos, rugbys, t-shirts, jeans, everything and while their new line of travel jeans are apparantly made in the States, the pair of travel denim that I bought last year were foreign.
Love em, I enjoy my dark denim, but the wash on these are very nice.
Tough one….
Yeah, so far Gap has given me nothing but heartache. I bought a $16 dollar t-shirt from them and I received a disposable napkin of some sort. I wouldn’t wear this shirt to wash the car.
Also, they aren’t cheap either. At least with Bonobos, you know you’re getting excellent quality. Gap is expensive and has risky quality across the board.
Yeah Bonobos Jeans wash are subtle but really nice. They do fit a bit large though. I size down quite a bit with them.
I haven’t shopped at GAP in ages. Probably over a year, maybe even two. GAP exists in a weird style limbo – the prices, even with codes, are too high to be considered real bargains, but the overall quality isn’t much better than entry-level options like Target, JCPenney, H&M, and so on.
On the other hand, I’ve only bought a couple things from Bonobos. Their retail prices are too high for me, but occasionally when you get the right combination of sales, promos, and referral credits, you can get some sweet deals (like the USA denim I’m wearing right now – $5 actual cost to me after a sale, a 30% promo, and a $50 referral credit).
http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/007/423/untitle.JPG
Does Bonobos actually DO sales anymore? Honest question: I know they have the all-the-time coupons for first time buyers, but 25% doesn’t do much to some of those prices…
Be better than the Gap…
This comment needs moar votes: it’s spot on. If the GAP ran the type of codes BR does (a decent # of 40% codes with the occasional F&F 50%) they’d be a better pick. The way they work it, GAP and BR actually have quite similar pricing on a lot of pieces after the codes are applied (typically when BR has 40%, GAP will have 30% or 25%).
I have recently liked a number of the GAPs offerings (modern oxfords and some of the pants… almost snagged the navy cotton blazer too). I do think the price for what you’re getting is unreasonable without a 40% off (hard to come by… basically F&F and that’s about it…). Anyway, my vote still goes to GAP: the Bonobos price tag is just a bit too steep for my tastes at this point and I doubt the quality is high enough to justify it.
Neither of these stores should be seen in anywhere near the finals IMO.
I’m surprised its this close. As a college guy, GAP gets my vote. Just have more experience with them. But if I had the money I’d buy Bonobos, and most likely vote for them.
I had the same issue! I emailed Bonobos about it and they overnighted me a new pair. We’ll see if this pair does the same.
Heavens, I went into a GAP for the first time in about a year, and walked out with a awesome pair of garment dyed 1969 jeans and wool pants for $40. For both. Both fit insanely good. I am pretty skinny but those skinny fit pants are SKIN TIGHT. Straight fit is crazy good though.
I feel that JCP doesn’t deserve a break yet. If they continue the positive trend until next year, great. As of now, their track record is still predominantly negative.
To anyone complaining about Bonobos making clothes in other countries, this is probably not the round to let that keep you from voting for them. Gap has received a whole lot of grief for using sweatshops in third world countries. I like their modern oxfords, though.
Man, not like they used to. I’ve been lucky and caught a 20% off code here and there. I voted GAP for this sole reason. As much as I enjoy bonobos, I can only justify purchasing their pants and that is only when I catch a spare 20% code here and there. Otherwise, chances are I am buying levi’s 514’s(which are too wide in ankle area for my taste.) After trying their shirts, I can’t justify the price, especially as they were too short for my long torso. Shirt-wise, Lands End,GAP, ON. Heck, even J Crew is doing it for me atm. BR too.
If bonobos wasn’t so stingy with those codes as of late, then they would of had my vote.
Exactly, I am in the process of losing weight. So holding off for a size or two before I pick up another pair.
Not putting bonobos down, but I think the issue is more of how bonobos presents their manufacturing. At least compared to how they used to.
Happen to be wearing an Impresario from Bonobos today, and own nothing from GAP. Though I am quite fond of BR, today’s vote is for Bonobos!
Bonobos. Not even close. GAP’s quality is suspect and just seems to come off as cheap to me.
Bonobos has a great slim fit selection. Their slim chinos come in almost every color and the button downs are solid. Worth the price.
Gap? I haven’t been there in ages.
Are they selvedge jeans? If so, then your concerns are more of a miseducation.
I have been a fan of Gap for years, and especially love the fit of their Jeans, but my latest pair of Selvedge jeans from them were a disaster. They fit great, looked and felt great, which would have been great if they didn’t wear out with multiple holes in 2 months time. I expect at least a year out of a pair of Jeans. Gap quality has gone WAY downhill, and my bad CS experience with returning these sealed the deal. No more Gap for me.
could be they are using genuine indigo dye.. it’s a beautiful color but does not bond that well to cotton so jeans dyed with it fade very quickly.. especially in wear areas like your wallet spot..
Bonobos is way overpriced for clothes made in China. I prefer this other men’s clothing start up – Jomers.. they make pants in Manhattan for like $50 something and the quality is awesome.