While Gap Inc. has been shuttering its namesake stores and Banana Republics, two of its brands have been thriving: Athleta and Old Navy. But that doesn't mean the latter has not been without its fair share of issues. Old Navy has been at the center of quite a few controversies in recent years, causing the company to get rid of certain items. In 2015, after facing major backlash from customers, the retailer discontinued children's shirts that seemingly disparaged art careers. Then, in 2018, Old Navy replaced a t-shirt design that featured a non-inclusive map of Chicago neighborhoods. But now, the brand is getting rid of one entire section of clothing altogether amid criticism. Read on to find out about Old Navy's latest change.
Old Navy is getting rid of its separate plus size section.
ShutterstockOld Navy stores across the country are getting a makeover. The retailer has announced that it will no longer separate its women's plus size section and instead showcase all women's clothing together, starting Aug. 20. This new initiative, called "Bodequality," will be put into action at all of Old Navy's 1,200 stores with signs highlighting the change.
Old Navy's online store will also merge women's and women's plus size collections into one navigation menu.
According to Glossy, Alison Partridge Stickney, head of women's merchandising at Old Navy, has spent three years talking to customers and workshopping new ways to elevate the company's plus size offerings. "We decided early on that this wouldn’t be a Band-Aid fix," she said. "This had to be a complete transformation of the way we work."
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All women's clothing at Old Navy will now also be offered in extended sizes.
ShutterstockOld Navy will now also be offering all of its women's apparel in sizes zero through 30. According to Teen Vogue, sizes 0-28 will be stocked in all Old Navy stores, while size 30 will be sold exclusively online.
Extended size styles will no longer be designed and manufactured in a different setting either, as they had been previously, per Glossy. The company is also introducing new mannequins in stores and models online, displayed in sizes 4, 12, and 18.
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Old Navy has faced controversy for its extended sizes in the past.
ShutterstockOld Navy has carried clothing sizes above 16 since 2004. In 2018, the company introduced specialized plus size shops at 75 of its stores, per CNN. But the retailer's extended size offerings have faced some hurdles.
In 2014, Old Navy was heavily criticized for charging higher prices for women's plus size jeans compared to smaller size jeans when there was no price difference for men's jeans among various sizes. At the time, the retailer defended its price differences by claiming that women's extended styles included "unique fabrics and design elements" that men's jeans did not. But, as part of its new initiative, Old Navy has made it clear that prices for women's clothing will be the same across sizes.
Old Navy hopes the change eliminates feelings of exclusion.
ShutterstockIn talking to women who wear plus sizes over the past few years, Old Navy's Partridge Stickney told Glossy that she learned there was a near-universal concern: the feeling of exclusion.
"The overwhelming response we heard from women is that shopping isn’t fun, it’s dismal," she explained. "They can’t shop with their friends. They feel excluded. So our marching orders were to make the entire shopping process feel inclusive, no walls between customers. And the nice thing about hearing the same thing over and over from so many customers was that it made it very easy to pitch [this plan] to the rest of the company."
According to Glossy, the change will only occur for Old Navy's women's clothing and not for any other Gap brands at the moment. Gap Inc. has not revealed whether or not the shift will roll out to other brands at a later time. Best Life has also reached out to the company, but has not yet heard back.
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