So what do you think?

At right are two looks from Patrick Robinson’s Fall 2008 collection for Gap, that stalwart of American fashion that has of late fallen on hard times, both fiscally and fashionably. Robinson - he of his own failed eponymous line and late of Perry Ellis and Paco Rabanne - has been called upon to resurrect the Gap from becoming another casualty of an ever-fickle industry where consumer are increasingly trading up for small luxuries and turning away from mass-produced merchandise.

As Eric Wilson explains in today’s New York Times’ Styles section, “Reinventing Gap, the nation’s largest specialty apparel chain, has been fashion’s equivalent of Merlin’s stone for much of the last decade, as sales and profits have dipped, along with its image among young consumers.” So the question becomes, is Robinson up to the task? More importantly, do you like what you see? Are you ready to fall into the Gap?

I‘ll be honest: the only time I shop at the Gap anymore is on the clearance rack, for $3.99 t-shirts or the occasional size Tall item that’s been returned to the store. I haven’t felt inspired by their clothing in quite some time.

And while easy-to-please kid sis Old Navy and sophisticated older sister Banana Republic appear to have found and maintained their respective niches for some time now, Gap has continued to flounder.

Remember when Gap was so hugely popular that even Madonna and Missy Elliot were on board for an ad campaign, music video and - gasp! - CD single released in the store? It all seems a bit much now, but I remember really liking those commercials back in 2003 (has it really been 5 years?). And I remember shopping more at the store back then. They had great basics, but a few fun extras that worked well for an adventurous fashionista on a budget.

But then came a series of misdirected ad campaigns, including - shudder - the inexplicable series of images of Sarah Jessica Parker, the queen of high-end clothing and accessories at the time on SATC. Why was she shopping at the Gap all of the sudden? It just didn’t make sense.

Slowly, though, the retailer regained some of its fashion credibility with such awesome collaborations as the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists’ white shirt collections and last year’s Whitney Biennial participants’ fanciful t-shirt designs. In fact, if you happen to wear a size L, you can still snag a Phillip Lim-designed button-down for just $27.99 on clearance. Hmm… Maybe the DCGF needs to get that one…. (I’ll be wearing my other Phillip Lim-designed white shirt tonight, at the Travelin’ Trunk Show!)

You see, at heart, I still, well, (heart) Gap. I love going into one of their stores - big or small - and seeing what I might find on the racks. Deep down, I’m hoping to recapture the Gap of my youth, that magical place I visited in high school that was the be all end all of great style and affordability. Sure, I know those days are over, but every now and again I catch a glimpse of an item that I think might work just right with my wardrobe of carefully thrifted and drastically marked down designer finds.

So far, the fall ads are rather curious. You can see yet more celebrities and celebrity-slash-models looking sensitive/serious on a multi-page spread in just about any major fashion magazine on shelves right now.

But how do I “Make [my] own philosophy” through clothes? How do I “Name [my] own destiny?” Um…not sure. And why are they in black and white only?! Fall clothes to me are all about color and texture, which just can’t be conveyed well in black an white, as “artistic” as it may look on the pages of a magazine.

-sigh-

I’m counting on you, Mr. Robinson, to restore my faith in Gap. Can you do it? Please?

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