Old Navy vs. Gap vs. Banana Republic vs. H&M: Which Brand Is The Best? (History, Quality, Price & Design)

• Old Navy 

Old Navy Brand History and Origin

Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It was originally founded in March of 1994. It started out as a Gap Warehouse that was renamed Old Navy Clothing Co. The new name would distinguish Old Navy from its parent company and create a new more affordable brand and this is how Old Navy came into existence.

Old Navy is known for carrying its own popular brand of active and casual wear for men, women, children and babies. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its flagship stores, located in New York City, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Manila, and Mexico City.

Old Navy Prices: Women & Women's Plus: $3 - $84.99, mens: $5.99 - $79.99, Girl's: $0.97 - $59.99, Boy's:  $1.99 - $59.99, Toddler's: $1.96 - $59.99, Baby's: $0.97 - $69.99,Maternity: $7 - $99.99, Jeans: $9.96- $59.99.

Old Navy Design & Style

Old Navy has been known to use clever family-targeted commercials, and they are always centered on the holidays.  When Old Navy first came on the scene, its motto was "Fashion, Fun, Family & Value," and was solely created to be a less expensive version of Gap. 

Old Navy is not exactly known for selling a ton of variety, so the stores save on costs by focusing on basics and casualwear instead of trying to be the most fashionable store out there. It's definitely a great place for what I consider disposable clothing. Meaning even if you're on a budget, you can live the seasonal high life with a revolving wardrobe. You can always find clothes for less than $50.

Old Navy Quality 

Old Navy is marketed towards families and cheap deals. A place where a mother can go and cloth her whole family without breaking the bank.  In order to hit the price points, the items sold will compromise on other areas such as fabric quality and design complexity.  

Old Navy uses lots of manufacturers so their quality and even sizing vary considerably. You can expect to get a small size clothing in Old Navy to become too big for you, and at Old Navy, it’s essential to try it on before you buy.

Where to Buy Old Navy for the Cheapest?

oldnavy.gap.com（3-4% cashback）

oldnavy.gapcanada.ca（4-5% cashback）

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• Gap 

Gap Brand History and Origin

The Gap, Inc., commonly known as Gap, is an American worldwide clothing and accessories retailer. Gap was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company operates five primary divisions: Gap (the namesake banner), Banana Republic, Old Navy,  Athleta and YZY Gap. 

Gap , Inc is the largest specialty retailer in the United States, and is 3rd in total international locations, behind Inditex Group and H&M. As of September 2008, the company operates 3,727 stores worldwide, of which 2,406 are located in the U.S.

Gap Prices: women's: $4.97 - $182, men's: $4.97 - $169, teen's: $5.97-$49,gilrs: $3- $124, boys: $4.97- $124,Toddler: $3.97-$9, baby: $3 -$71.

Gap Design & Style

Gap is expected to fill all the space in between Old Navy and Banana Republic, offering moderate to good quality apparel at moderate prices. The Gap is their mainstream brand targeted at the broadest audience, "classically styled, high quality, casual apparel at moderate price points." They are originators and champions of a uniquely radical and optimistic sense of American style that bridges the gaps between individuals, generations, and cultures. 

GAP is an excellent place to pick up staples for your seasonal wardrobe updates. The minimal branding means that most pieces you get from GAP fit seamlessly into your wardrobe. 

Gap Quality 

Gap has much simpler and fashionable styles and sturdier material. Its price is reasonable and the quality is good. They are comfortable to wear. Gap is popular for their jeans which are known to fit well and be extremely durable. 

Gap used to be synonymous with avant-garde and cool. However, it seems to have weakened recently.

Where to Buy Gap the Cheapest?

gap.com (3-4% cashback)

gapfactory.com (3.5-4% cashback)

• Banana Republic 

Banana Republic Brand History and Origin

Banana Republic is an upscale clothing and accessories retailer owned by the American multinational corporation Gap Inc.

It was founded in 1978 by Mel and Patricia Ziegler, who originally called the company "Banana Republic Travel & Safari Clothing Company". The original concept for the company was to sell items that complement a safari and travel lifestyle. The couple worked for the San Francisco Chronicle, Mel being a reporter and Particia being an illustrator. 

In 1983, Gap purchased the company, changed the name to "Banana Republic," and rebranded the stores to achieve a more upscale image. Now it operates as a division, now with over 600 stores located internationally. 

Banana Republic Prices: women's clothing $15- $1,500; men's clothing $9-$1300; shoes & Accessories$6- $289; baby's: $5-$280.

Banana Republic Design & Style

Banana Republic is Gap's most luxurious brand. It is targeted at young professionals like Gap, but positioned with luxury and business-friendly clothes. It has just begun to sell clothing for babies, but is not known for selling children's clothing.

The classic Banana Republic consumer can be a 35-55-year-old woman and man who goes for that recognizable, preppy American look. They don't like to experiment with fashion, and you'd probably describe their style as elevated, classic and 'old money'. It was where working individuals could go to buy their appropriately trendy poly-wool suits without having to drop $1,000 at once. It was just fashion-adjacent enough to be considered stylish while remaining a utilitarian experience. 

Today, there's a shift toward casualwear, with pieces that feel sophisticated and upscale, but comfortable and versatile at the same time. The brand also appears to be moving away from the rigidness of the business-casual look with which they had been synonymous, pivoting toward elevated wardrobe staples at an affordable price point. 

 Banana Republic Quality 

Despite being a mid-level clothing brand,  Banana Republic is often compared to Tommy Hilfiger or Polo Ralph Lauren, strictly mid-level clothing brands. Being part of the Gap empire, Banana Republic is more upscale in comparison to Gap or Old Navy. 

Banana Republic offers high class business attire, and also has a casual line of clothing. Banana Republic's clothing is more expensive, very well made from nice fabrics. The quality are higher and the styles are always unique.

Where to Buy Banana Republic for the Cheapest?

bananarepublic.gap.com (3-4% cashback)

bananarepublic.gapcanada.ca (3-4% cashback)

• H&M

H&M Brand History and Origin

Swedish retailer H&M is one of the world's most recognisable fast fashion brands. Its focus is fast-fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers, and children.

The company was founded in 1947 by Erling Persson with the very first shop established in Västerås, Sweden. The original name of the business was called “Hennes” , which is Swedish for “hers”, as the store at the time exclusively sold womenswear. It wasn’t until 1968 when Persson acquired the hunting apparel brand Mauritz Widforss. Soon after the merger and the official rebranding into the shortened H&M, the company’s expansion gradually began to expand outside of Sweden's borders.

Today the H&M Group offers fashion for everyone under the brands of H&M, COS, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday and & Other Stories, as well as fashion for the home at H&M Home. It's the second largest retailer in the world, trailing just behind Inditex (the owner of Zara), and operates in 74 countries.

H&M Prices: women's clothing, shoes & accessories: $2.54 - $296.65; men's : $4.24 - $126.65; baby's: $3.39 - $55.24; kid's: $2.54 -$84.15; H&M HOME: $2.54 - $220.15; sportwear: $ 9.99 - $129.

H&M Design & Style

H&M is a leader in the "fast fashion" space. If you're lusting after high-fashion designer clothing but can't quite afford the hefty price tag attached, shopping at H&M might get you a little closer to that designer wardrobe you crave for just a fraction of the price. 

H&M has collaborated with different high-fashion designers.  Big names to have worked on exclusive lines for H&M so far include Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli, Jimmy Choo, Versace, Alexander Wang, Balmain, Kenzo, and Moschino. 

H&M Quality 

H&M is known for making cheap trendy fashion. Their low prices clothing have strange prints and images and no standard cuts and styles. On close inspection, a lot of it doesn't look well-made and the fabrics aren't soft to the touch, but only at $14.95 for a holiday dress. 

Aimed at young, fashion-conscious urban consumers, their products are trendy and they're cheap, bordering on disposable.That naturally has gained them some criticism from advocates of sustainable and ethical consumerism. H&M does not manufacture its products in-house but outsources its production to more than 900 independent suppliers around the world, mainly in Europe and Asia.

Where to Buy H&M for the Cheapest?

2.hm.com

• Conclusion

Old Navy vs. Gap vs. Banana Republic vs. H&M: which brand is the best?

Old Navy 

Old Navy was created to be a less expensive version of Gap. It is marketed towards families and cheap deals. Lots of apparel for children and teens (and the whole family) at bargain prices - fashion and fit are not as much the focus. In order to hit the price points, the items sold will compromise on other areas such as fabric quality and design complexity. 

Gap 

Gap is expected to fill all the space in between Old Navy and Banana Republic, offering moderate to good quality apparel at moderate prices. Gap's Items are more fashionable than Old Navy, especially when it comes to fit and styles, but doesn't attempt to target the professional segment as that is BR's territory. Gap's reputation is to be more "classically" styled, so you won't see as many flashy styles as the H&M type.

Banana Republic 

Banana Republic is Gap's most luxurious brand. It's sophisticated and upscale with preppy American look, but comfortable and versatile at the same time. The Banana Republic brand is a good  brand if you’re looking for affordable, fashion-forward items.

H&M

H&M Aimed at young, fashion-conscious urban consumers, their products are trendy and they're cheap, however bordering on disposable. H&M offers enough variety without sacrificing style of their products. This fashion retail store is most well known for its stock of “chic but trendy runway-inspired pieces.”  Shopping at H&M might get you a little closer to that designer wardrobe you crave for just a fraction of the price. 

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