Some honest thoughts about Gap x Dôen

Shopping smartly & a roundup of inspired secondhand pieces

Big news for wannabe prairie dwellers and Jane Birkin worshippers: Gap x Dôen is back!!!

In all seriousness, I saw this one coming. Gap is riding a fashionable wave right now, with one buzzworthy campaign and collection after the other.

They onboarded Zac Posen. They timed their choreographed video with Parker Posey perfectly while lorazepam was on all of our minds. And at the start of this month, they launched GapStudio under the guise of sophistication and high fashion.

Gap x Dôen v.2 guides the brand on its trendy trajectory by expanding the collaboration that began last summer. The original capsule collection of airy lace pieces, floral slip skirts, trouser jeans, and slip dresses was wildly popular, with a good proportion of the shirts, tanks, and blouses selling out within the first three days.

This color palette feels...patriotic?

This second drop features 38 pieces priced from $34 to $158 for women, children, and men, an uncharted territory for Dôen’s design team. Like last year, accessories and shoes will be offered as well.

If you’ve been noticing that legacy mall brands like Gap, Banana Republic, J. Crew, and Levi’s are suddenly back on the map, you’re not alone. New creative directors are steering these stores to produce recreations of pieces you might find for $300-$400 at STAUD and Realisation Par or $1,000+ at Khaite and The Row.

Celebrity and high-end designer collaborations have become the new cheat code to retaining relevance for these fast fashion labels.

Especially in periods of economic downturn, such high-low and celeb-endorsed collections – Gap x Dôen, Alexa Chung x Madewell, Atelier Victoria’s Secret x Altuzarra, Kate Spade x Target – thrive by making the luxurious (more) accessible.

The upcoming product lineup

We’ll have to wait until May 2 to view everything the two brands cooked up, but we do have some sneak peeks.

The frilly, flowy, and smocked cotton dresses ($128-$158), tanks, and skirts are coming back in red, black, white, floral print, chambray, and plaid. Signature items from Dôen, we’ve seen such silhouettes regurgitated a lot over the past year from brands like Madewell, J. Crew, and Anthropologie.

Gap’s identity shines through in the denim pieces and tees in this collection. From the teaser campaign, I’m seeing a classic denim jacket ($128) that’s been vintage-ified with a blue corduroy collar and a boxy striped tee, both staples of Gap’s Cali casual aesthetic.

Some lazy branded merch and a tee you could buy anywhere.

Like last time, sweatshirts ($78, $98) and a baseball cap bearing the logos of both brands are included, and feel a little out of place among the daintier items, but are remnants from the 2024 collaboration.

The aesthetics of both labels blend with a sailor-esque denim mini ($98), cotton maxi dresses ($148), and a matching striped button-up and short set. European chic brought down to a level that Americans can sport just as effortlessly.

T-strap sandals in 2025? Need to have a chat with Gap asap.

Seeing multiple pairs of T-strap, flat sandals in this campaign scares me a bit. These are frightening recession indicators if I ever saw one.

Why I won’t be buying

When Gap x Dôen first dropped, I eagerly browsed the Gap site in hopes of getting my hands on my first Dôen item, a brand I’d been idolizing for years. Something changed once I saw the products on the website against Gap’s sterile white background. Once removed from Dôen’s online portal where product shots are taken in French gardens with perfectly tousled hair and basket bags to match, they lose their mystique.

The pieces themselves are arguably cute and timeless in essence. Pleated trousers and eyelet blouses remind me of sitting in cafes on vacation to European coastal towns and observing the locals’ outfits. A gingham milkmaid top and matching skirt are begging to be worn to brunch or a farmers market stroll. I just can’t see past some of the fabric choices and small details of this collection: stiff cotton for the button ups, flimsy-looking elastic waistbands for the boxer shorts and maxi skirts, acrylic knit sweaters, a red patterned fabric that feels so 2010s Ann Taylor.

Some of my least favorite pieces in the collection.

Pricing of this collection is also a strong deterrent for me. Perhaps shopping almost exclusively pre-loved items for the past six years has ruined my concept of clothing pricing, but I find Gap selling an $80, single-layer cotton blouse to be kind of unacceptable.

I’ve recently visited their stores and even shamefully purchased a tee and pair of jeans new on extreme clearance. After a few wears, stitching is coming loose and compared to some of my vintage and thrifted pieces from other brands, the quality isn’t bad, but it’s certainly not up to par with Dôen’s offerings, having tried on some of their clothes for fun at their Montecito store.

How to shop the aesthetic secondhand on a budget

Just some of the many pieces on Depop I found under $60 that have the Gap x Dôen vibe.

Whether I’m a tastemaker or this is simply a testament to the timeless styles in the collection, I found a lot of the staples Gap is selling to be already living in my closet. I love these select pieces – a vintage Old Navy denim jacket with a caramel corduroy collar, vintage Ralph Lauren boxy striped tees, an Everlane striped button-up I bought off of my sister, a unique vintage pointelle cardigan. I don’t really need duplicates of them at the moment.

Based on my glimpse at the collection, all of these items are relatively easy to find on the secondhand market as they’re referencing existing trends or offering slight variations to decades-old styles. I’ve rounded up some secondhand items that recreate the Gap x Dôen vibe for way, way less. You can also shop these items in my “likes” by visiting my Depop profile:

*I will note that in trying to find size-inclusive items for this round-up on Depop was challenging due to the dearth of pieces for sizes 8 and above. ThredUp and eBay most likely have a wider range of sizes available for purchase. It’s unfortunate that both the Gap and Dôen websites stop their sizing at XXL and XL, and I hope they consider extending their sizing range.

All of these pieces are under $60, most are under $40. Gap x Dôen pricing could never!

Denim Jackets and Chore Coats with Corduroy Collars

❀ Bill Bass, Size M, $35 ❀ St. John’s, Size M, $36 ❀ Bill Blass, Size M, $40 ❀ Brandy Melville, Size S, $20

Frilly and Floral Blouses/Tanks

❀ J.Crew, Size XS, $24 ❀ Reformation, Size 4, $21 ❀ Anthropologie, Size 4, $35 ❀ Madewell, Size M, $35 ❀ Madewell, Size L, $25 ❀ Heartloom, Size M, $30 ❀ Reformation, Size 8, $32

Cotton Maxi Skirts

❀Vintage, Size Medium, Size M, $30 ❀ Vintage, Size 30”, $34 ❀ Little Moon, Size XS, $22

Blue, White, Red & Black Button Ups

❀ Vintage, Size L, $10 ❀ Vintage, Size XS, $38 ❀ Denim Forum, Size S, $40 ❀ Nordstrom, Size M, $15 ❀ Ralph Lauren, Size M, $15 ❀ J. Crew, Size S, $31

Boxy, Nautical Tees

❀ Vintage, Size M, $12 ❀ Pendleton, Size S, $20 ❀ Ralph Lauren, Size M, $20 ❀ Vintage, Size S, $40

Dresses

Plaid: ❀ Vintage, Size 6, $15 ❀ Vintage, Size S, $45 ❀ Unif, Size S, $27 ❀ Unif, Size M, $48 Cotton: Everlane, Size M, $40 ❀ Sam, Size M, $20 ❀ Aritzia, Size XS, $55 ❀ Free People, Size L, $42 ❀ Vintage, Size S, $45

Boxer Shorts

❀ Lioness, Size S, $10 ❀ Unbranded, Size M, $12.50 ❀ Gap, Size L, $4.50 ❀ Pink Rose, Size 10, $6.40

Light Sweaters and Knits

❀ Vintage, Size M, $30 ❀ Vintage, Size L, $20 ❀ Zara, Size L, $40 ❀ Nordstrom, Size M, $20 ❀ Unbranded, Size M, $18