Old Navy’s Inclusive Clothing Ended Up Excluding The Masses

Photo 95385635 © Tea | Dreamstime.com

It sounded good on paper, but the execution was a bit of a nightmare.

Old Navy is folding some efforts in bringing women’s apparel to every body shape and size, as it’s been stuck with deadstock consisting of less-common sizes, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The brand, whose earnings make up the most in the Gap family, had been markedly ambitious in its push for inclusive sizing. Last August, it debuted sizing options of zero through 30, and XS through 4X, for all women’s styles.

Unfortunately, its stores now have an excess of very small and very large sizes. At the same time, they’ve been running out of core options, making it difficult for the majority to find clothes that fit them.

It’s worth noting that designing for diverse sizes isn’t as straightforward as it seems. More fabric has to be purchased to accommodate larger sizes, for instance, and the company has to consider how to scale elements like pocket sizes.

WSJ reports that, to remediate the disparities in sizes, Old Navy will no longer stock every size in its retail locations.

Shoppers who wish to purchase extended sizes can still access the full range on its website, however. 

Gap Inc CEO Sonia Syngal says Old Navy has canceled its recent shipments for less-common sizes and is topping up its middle sizes. The brand should overcome its sizing setbacks by this fall, Syngal projects.

[via Wall Street Journal and Insider, cover photo 95385635 © Tea | Dreamstime.com]