Life without Gap Kids was a struggle for my family. Yes, I am serious. With four kids in constant "need" of some clothing item,the closing of Gap Kids and Baby Gap in the Stanford mall brought to light the reality of our dependence on Gap. (I have a similar dependence on Peet's Coffee.) I am a Gap devotee, and not just because they started here in San Francisco. Though can you imagine what Gap would have been like if it was started in Los Angeles? Think Juicy Couture, yeesh!
For months we took a trek into S.F. to buy our Gap basics. We ordered online, and tried to find some Gap alternative. There really is not one. There are many great boutiques, with innovative designs. But when a kid needs some khakis or a white shirt, Gap is the place to go. I have been waiting for the store to re-open. I wish that someone had told me that they opened this past Saturday. I would have been there to welcome the staff back from the adult Gap across the way. It was my seven year old daughter that informed me that Gap was back when I picked her up at school on Monday. So off we went to check out the new digs.
The new Baby Gap/ Gap Kids now also includes a maternity section. If I were pregnant I would be thrilled. However, in order to accommodate the maternity, the rest of the store has much less space. The design is cute, similar to the store on Market Street in San Francisco, also recently re-done. There is a camp theme throughout the store, a large canoe, skateboards and other camp decor. The floor is tiled in a wonderful blue mosaic tile. The dressing rooms have fun kid sized stools, and painting on the walls, but there is no space to shop. Aisles are small and crowded. There is not even space for my favorite rack, the sale rack.I commend Gap on their attempt at kid friendly design. I just wish the space was larger and more accessible. I also noticed that the store was not carrying the kids Product Red line, one of my kids' favorites. I guess I still have an excuse to go to the S.F. stores.
I don't like the new store either. I had difficulty navigating it with a stroller which seems insane for a BABY store. And there were some baby things they aren't carrying like Brannan's Basics. And I hadn't noticed about the sale rack until you mentioned it. I'll stick to shopping at Valley Fair, which is probably twice the size of the Stanford store.
Posted by: Shannon | October 18, 2007 at 03:28 PM