Although, based on reports of the bare racks at 12 Manhattan Gap stores around town, the title should really be, “Emptying the Gap”.
Within 24 hours of 9 Gap Design Editions white shirts and shirtdresses ($68- $88) hitting the stores, (a brilliant partnership forged between the Gap, the CFDA, and Vogue Fashion Fund), all the small sizes (and then some) baring the labels of Doo.Ri, Rodarte, and Thakoon, were completely sold out. In fact, only the very large sizes are still available (if that).
Following on the heels of H&M’s past customer feeding frenzies thanks to their collaborations with the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, and Viktor & Rolf, the Gap insured that there would be only a limited number of those white shirts made available and as you know, there is nothing like scarcity to get the customer’s juices flowing.
Fortunately I hit the Gap at 59th and Lexington yesterday (where business was brisk though not exactly frenetic before noon). Having determined that it’s mathematically impossible to have too many white shirts (especially when they’re “reinvented” as www.fashionwiredaily.com described) and without trying anything on (selecting only size small and one extra small), I quickly selected a Doo.Ri Chung ¾ sleeved long blouse with v neck and extra attached scarf (to tie as you like…an idea that certainly appealed to me, a crisp Thakoon pin tucked and lantern sleeved blouse with attached tie the collar, and two very sweet and cool looking Rodarte designs (a cut in sleeved trapeze top with gathered neckline and a scoop neck tank style top decorated with tiny bows both of which I decided would come in handy on those ‘dog days’ of August).
In fact, I decided that after these versatile purchases, I’m pretty much set for summer; I could easily see myself pairing any of these tops with my favorite capris, Bermudas, white jeans, or skirts, plus they could easily go from day to evening. (And by the way, all the styles were great looking in person in terms of both quality and design. The Doo.Ri Claire McCardell inspired shirtdress was appealing on many levels but I decided to go with smaller pieces…separates if you will).
When I called the store today to see if there was a size small in something I had purchased in extra small, I was told by the store manager that there were no small sizes in ANY of the styles left and only very large sizes were available. In fact, this was the case in all the shops around town.
And when I checked out Gap online, www.gap.com., the same held true, even though yesterday morning, all sizes and all styles were available. (This is because the designer shirts were not being sold in stores across the country, so the customer who could not shop in New York had no choice but to buy online).
While I think it’s safe to say that prior to this week, the names Doo.Ri Chung, Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte, and Thakoon Panichgul would not have been recognized by too many people outside the insular world of fashion, I would venture to say that this is about to change. Oh, and how could I forget to mention…if you have your heart set on something which is now unavailable, all you have to do is click on to EBay, and you will assuredly find all the styles available (at a price of course but c’est la vie!)
-Marilyn Kirschner
