Old Navy: gone majorly downhill, or is it just me?
Okay, so complaining about Old Navy isn't nearly a new thing. I think I've read enough customers venting about a downward spiral in ON's clothing quality that I'd have a house if I had a fiver for each one I've seen.
But here's the thing: as long as the quality was good enough that I could wear it (i.e. it wasn't entirely sheer and it seemed like it'd hold up past one wash), I was alright with it. I knew Old Navy offered me an experience I didn't have in many other shops: at a size 18/20, I could walk into a store and shop with my straight-size friends, and could find good deals on their clothes. Throw in the fact that Old Navy carried a decent selection of my hard-to-find tall inseam, and Old Navy was a valuable place for me.
In 2011, Old Navy released its super-popular Rockstar; they notoriously ran very small and very short, so the size 20 barely fit me. I decided to wait until Old Navy released something comparable in the plus section.
I waited.
And waited.
Aaand waited.
Old Navy finally released them, and in a range of sad ass colors. I was only tempted to buy the Dark Wash, which were consistently sold out. I decided to move on and look at other denim, to find that tall inseams are now nearly nonexistent in Old Navy's plus section. I couldn't buy skinny jeans, I couldn't buy work pants. I could buy a pair of khakis if I wanted, which doesn't work in my Business Attire office.
I ended up writing Old Navy -- which is something I'd pretty much never done before -- because throughout 2011, I had made a helluva lot of orders with Old Navy. By late 2011, that had come to a halt, and not because I didn't want to but because the exciting product just wasn't there. I received a canned, automated response to the e-mail, which was sadly what I had expected.
So I recently came across this dress:
I considered buying it in Goodnight Nora, which is Old Navy's navy color. Navy is an "in" color, yaddayadda. My eyes wandered the size selection to see... it's only available up to a size 16. Wtf?!
For $8 more, in the plus section, I could buy its elastic-waistband sister that lacks the stylish fit-and-flare that sparked my interest in the straight-size dress...
Then today I came across this cute tube dress:
...another one only available up to a size 16... but no worries, if you're looking for a tube dress and you're plus size, you can buy this smocked french terry tube dress.
Old Navy consistently sells out of sizes XXL, 18, and 20 in-store and online. Old Navy also consistently offers a far shittier selection in its plus section, at least for me as a 20-something working university student that's confident in her body, relatively trendy, and more than willing to dish out money for clothing that makes me feel good.
So what am I supposed to do now, Old Navy? Turning to your plus section leaves me frustrated about the state of plus size fashion (even more than I already am), not just because of the lack of trendy clothing, but also because the tall inseams you used to offer for the many long-legged plus size women out there aren't being made anymore. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I swear I never saw Old Navy's trendy plus styles and tall inseam bottoms sit on the site for a long time before selling out. I used to feel disappointment, but now I can't help but feel pissed off, like Old Navy is alienating its plus size customers and getting stuck in the old mentality that plus size women aren't interested in trends or clothing that shows off their body.
Is this just me? Anyone else think Old Navy needs to wake up if it wants to get its revenue back up?
But here's the thing: as long as the quality was good enough that I could wear it (i.e. it wasn't entirely sheer and it seemed like it'd hold up past one wash), I was alright with it. I knew Old Navy offered me an experience I didn't have in many other shops: at a size 18/20, I could walk into a store and shop with my straight-size friends, and could find good deals on their clothes. Throw in the fact that Old Navy carried a decent selection of my hard-to-find tall inseam, and Old Navy was a valuable place for me.
In 2011, Old Navy released its super-popular Rockstar; they notoriously ran very small and very short, so the size 20 barely fit me. I decided to wait until Old Navy released something comparable in the plus section.
I waited.
And waited.
Aaand waited.
Old Navy finally released them, and in a range of sad ass colors. I was only tempted to buy the Dark Wash, which were consistently sold out. I decided to move on and look at other denim, to find that tall inseams are now nearly nonexistent in Old Navy's plus section. I couldn't buy skinny jeans, I couldn't buy work pants. I could buy a pair of khakis if I wanted, which doesn't work in my Business Attire office.
I ended up writing Old Navy -- which is something I'd pretty much never done before -- because throughout 2011, I had made a helluva lot of orders with Old Navy. By late 2011, that had come to a halt, and not because I didn't want to but because the exciting product just wasn't there. I received a canned, automated response to the e-mail, which was sadly what I had expected.
So I recently came across this dress:
I considered buying it in Goodnight Nora, which is Old Navy's navy color. Navy is an "in" color, yaddayadda. My eyes wandered the size selection to see... it's only available up to a size 16. Wtf?!
For $8 more, in the plus section, I could buy its elastic-waistband sister that lacks the stylish fit-and-flare that sparked my interest in the straight-size dress...
Then today I came across this cute tube dress:
...another one only available up to a size 16... but no worries, if you're looking for a tube dress and you're plus size, you can buy this smocked french terry tube dress.
Old Navy consistently sells out of sizes XXL, 18, and 20 in-store and online. Old Navy also consistently offers a far shittier selection in its plus section, at least for me as a 20-something working university student that's confident in her body, relatively trendy, and more than willing to dish out money for clothing that makes me feel good.
So what am I supposed to do now, Old Navy? Turning to your plus section leaves me frustrated about the state of plus size fashion (even more than I already am), not just because of the lack of trendy clothing, but also because the tall inseams you used to offer for the many long-legged plus size women out there aren't being made anymore. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I swear I never saw Old Navy's trendy plus styles and tall inseam bottoms sit on the site for a long time before selling out. I used to feel disappointment, but now I can't help but feel pissed off, like Old Navy is alienating its plus size customers and getting stuck in the old mentality that plus size women aren't interested in trends or clothing that shows off their body.
Is this just me? Anyone else think Old Navy needs to wake up if it wants to get its revenue back up?