Fashion Friday: Gap Is Back!

I've been a fan of Gap since elementary school.  I remember getting my first shirt there when we were out of town one summer and the weather was unexpectedly chilly.  Out of necessity my mom bought be a navy long sleeved shirt and complained about how much it cost (it was full price, probably a fall new arrival).  We then got a Gap store here in town shortly after and my mom's friend would take me on shopping sprees there because she didn't yet have any children of her own.  I'd say 3rd and 4th grade were my most fashionable elementary school years as I had pretty much every cute coordinated outfit from there.  Matching shoes and scrunchie?  Heck yeah!  Somewhere in that process I learned how to shop their sales and found how you can score some really amazing deals there.

Gap has remained one of my favorites as I think their stuff is appropriate for pretty much any age.  I think it's all in how you wear their stuff that makes it age appropriate.  I see middle schoolers wearing the same items I have from there and yet it works on both of us.

I've been super disappointed with Gap for a while now...  Everything has been really blah.  I was particularly disappointed with their fall and winter collections this year...  Everything was boring, short, boxy, and unflattering.  No thanks!

I'm so glad to announce, though, that Gap has cute stuff again!   Apparently, they fired their designer last fall, so the spring collection is from their new designer (who I believe used to be a J.Crew, another fave of mine).  I started stumbling upon pics on Pinterest of new Gap items and decided that I'd make a visit last weekend since I had a birthday coupon.  

Oh my goodness!  It was so good to see color in there again!  They still have plenty of neutrals, but they've definitely embraced the brights trend that I've been seeing all over for spring and have paired them really nicely with more neutral items.  I got a lot of good ideas for ways to pair up items I already own.  

Here are a few of my favorites.  If you click the picture you'll be directed to Gap's website where you can see the outfit details.

          

I broke down and got the pink blazer with my birthday coupon.  I couldn't pass it up and didn't want to risk them not having my size later on!  I have a feeling it's going to get some good wear in the coming months.  I tried on a ton of other items and really could have dropped a lot of money in there, but I decided to show some self-control.  :)  I really felt like their stuff was a lot more flattering than it's been in the past few years.  I fell in love with their new style of jeans, the Sexy Boyfriend, which I also first spotted on Pinterest.  Unfortunately (or fortunately for my wallet) they didn't have the wash I wanted in my size, but I'm pretty sure at some point I am going to track them down when I have another coupon or they're running a good jeans promo.  (I tried the ones in the Wednesday and Sunday photos above, but they were a little too bleachy on the butt.  They had a slightly darker wash that I think would wear more.)  They were super soft and fit me just right, which isn't all that common with me and jeans.  I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a dangerous situation when they have a big spring sale and some of these items go on clearance.  I may go a bit crazy!

Have you been into Gap since they got in their new stuff?

What are your favorite trends for spring?