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Um, Gap's Back-To-School Sale Includes Buy 1, Get 50% Off Pretty Much *Everything*

by Cat Bowen

I remember my first Gap t-shirt I got in the fifth grade. I was so proud of it. Finally, I was tall enough to wear grown-up sizes and could don the ever-so-trendy white pocket tee and high-waisted blue jeans. 25 years later, and here I am in a white pocket tee and high-waisted blue jeans. Don't mess with the classics, right? Since then, I've passed my love of the Gap down to my kids, and I could never turn away from their seasonal sales. Which is good because the Gap back-to-school sale is so great this year, you're going to want a few of everything.

Every year the competition for business gets steeper and steeper, and brick and mortar stores like The Gap are forced to pull out all the stops to get their piece of the retail pie. This back-to-school season, beginning on Aug. 19 and running through Aug. 25, the whole store is buy one item, get one item for 50 percent off. On top of that, almost everything will be 40 percent off the original price. And I am telling you, their children's line this year is absolutely golden.

My daughter already has her cart started, and sincerely believes she's getting all of it. To be honest, she grew 2 inches this summer and went up an entire shoe size, so she very well might with this sale.

The Gap has long stood as the retail giant that's known for its reliably workable fashion pieces and solidly standard items that will stand the test of time. I know very few people who don't have at least one pair of Gap jeans in their closet, or a few t-shirts and a button down. Pro-tip, try their sunglasses. They come in all kinds of cute shapes, and the little silk bag they give you to carry them in is cute and convenient.

My son is also a huge fan of their collaboration clothes. Anything with Aquaman on it is an instant win for him. (Coincidentally, I would also like to have Aquaman on me, but for a very different reason. If only he was available at the Gap back-to-school sale.)

I think the best thing about the Gap is that you can order online and exchange or return in the store. Lots of stores in my area are changing this policy, but Gap remains true. Because I might have ordered a size eight slim jean for my 7-year-old, only to realize she needs a size 10 with a belt. Thank you, Brooklyn Gap, for fixing it so quickly.

With the BOGO goodness of the sale, there is enough in the budget left over for me to buy a few things I need for myself. I've had my eye on this pair of sculpt-compression running leggings, but the $70 price tag threw me. I'm not one to splurge on tights — I spend my pennies on good running shoes — but 40 percent off and then an additional sale? I mean, my butt is going to look great, and no one will be any the wiser that I haven't given up bread and don't intend to.

And OK, I'll probably get my husband a pair of soft-wear denim jeans with Gapflex in a suitably Dad hued color, because that's just who we are now. The mom in leggings, the dad in light wash jeans. But hey, with the Gap back-to-school sale, at least our kids will look cool and we won't break the bank.