I’m a lunatic for shopping in person. That may sound ironic, given I write about online shopping for this very website—and the fact that buying clothes online is less of a preference than a default here in 2025. But if my curiosity is mildly piqued by a piece of menswear and there’s a chance I can touch it inside New York City limits, I will be there. And lately, I keep finding myself at a Gap store.
We’ve covered the recent Gap glow-up a few times here at GQ Recommends, and for good reason: the mall brand that’s gone through more ups and downs than Tesla’s stock has been digging into its vaunted archive, relaunching all-time hitters that feel perfect for the moment. Which puts me square in the dressing room of the Gap a few blocks away from my apartment, loaded to bear with all the pieces I’ve spent an hour piling up in my arms.
Gap’s menswear assortment has quietly turned into one of the most consistently shoppable anywhere—a closet-bolstering mix of vintage-tinged standards and effortless staples, all priced preposterously well. As everything in the world gets exponentially more expensive, its Costco hotdogs and Gap clothes that don’t budge.
The brand’s linen collection feels twice as expensive as what’s printed on the tag. Relatedly: I’m not sure any mall brand is making a better pair of loose summer pants, as you’ll see below—while Gap’s Big Shorts are on par with vintage pairs fetching hundreds on eBay. And no surprise, but Gap’s knits? Quietly fantastic.
You can spackle over some holes in your wardrobe at Gap, or manage a full-on remodel if you’re in need of your own personal vibe shift. That said, as with any mall brand running a high-churn clothing operation, there’s a lot to sift through—and more than a few ways to go astray.
In the interest of helping you, the good readers of GQ Recommends (and not just because I was feeling greedy), I tried on everything in my size that caught my eye. Here’s what made it back out of the Gap dressing room with me.
Gap Look #1: No-Sweat Pants
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