Parisian Boutiques Have Nothing on Vintage GAP
A recent score that stopped me in my tracks & 35+ vintage GAP picks made of natural fibers
Hi! How was your weekend?
I spent most of yesterday helping out
at the NEVERWORNS ex Vogue editor closet sale (a resounding success, of course, and the best use of a Sunday imo). Fate was on my side that Jorden Bickham and I share a foot size — I floated home with her beloved suede Tabi flats tucked in my purse. If only these babies could talk!
Today’s letter covers my most-searched-for brand when it comes to well made, natural fiber basics at an unbelievable price point — vintage GAP.
In this sweltering heat, the mere thought of descending the subway steps into a 120 degree swamp with rayon clinging to my armpits makes me perspire. (I have the Sweaty Girl carrying card, my pediatrician offered to give me those anti-sweat botox shots as a kid.)
Vintage GAP is my first stop for well priced well made basics in fabrics that breathe. And occasionally on that hunt, you stumble upon treasures you weren’t even looking for…
$13 can’t buy you a Hailey Bieber smoothie, but it can buy you a perfect snap button cardigan — if you know where to look.
I was floored to find this vintage GAP number on eBay recently: plush cotton, buttery yellow, snap closures — it’s almost identical to Parisian house agnès b.’s signature style sweater. I made an offer for $13, and within the week, it was wrapped around me like a plush trophy.
It fell into my lap during a routine stroll through vintage GAP eBay (a trip I take once a week or so), and while I wasn’t searching for this particular piece, I can’t say yellow snap cardis hadn’t been on my mind.
One of my favorite looks in the most recent issue of L’etiquette Femme featured the agnès b. version of this exact sweater. It retails for $245 and is sold out in all sizes, no surprise there.
agnès b. released her iconic style in 1979, a good decade or so before I estimate mine was produced. It’s a perfectly casual, perfectly comfortable sweater. More like wearing a sweatshirt than a traditional cardigan — as was Agnès’s intention, the is design inspired by her own tendency to cut her sweatshirts down the middle — it’s a throw-on-and-go staple that only gets cozier with age. (Check out
’s 2020 breakdown of the cardigan here if you’re more interested in its history.)
A light sweater is a summer essential, something airy for when the occasional nighttime chill rolls through — especially crucial if you’re lucky enough to be near an ocean breeze. But wading through the thick, damp air of July and August is a natural-fibers-only mission.
Lightweight cottons and silks are our best defenses against the terror of polyester in the blistering sun. Vintage GAP is the first thing I search for when looking for high quality natural fibers at the best possible price point.
Some of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe are vintage GAP, passed down from my mother (a ‘90s GAP employee) and curated over the years via eBay and thrift stores and flea markets. Modern GAP doesn’t hold a candle to the vintage stuff. Let’s all say it together this time… They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore!
Below the fold,
an in-depth explanation about how I find and ID vintage GAP pieces in the wild wild west of online resale
and 35+ secondhand picks made of natural fibers (cotton, silk, linen goodies galore…)