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News Aug 12, 2009 @ 4:13pm

Can Patrick Robinson Give Me Anja’s Legs?

by Britt Aboutaleb

anja bo banja.jpg This morning marked the final debut of Gap’s new 1969 denim collection, (we think).

So despite the fact that it’s fifty blocks away from my apartment, it’s one million humid degrees outside and I’m usually still in bed (though working) at 9am, I made my way to their flagship with the promise of Anja’s perfectly distressed skinnies - cute boys with coffee and Patrick Robinson weren’t bad either. (Yes, I know I sound like a brat.)

But when I got there, I wavered on my Anja decision. There was a full spread of the softest jeans in white, black, light and dark, with or without holes and buttons and even a riding pant in green with Gwyneth Paltrow’s name all over them (a good thing). Patrick and his team have been working on the fit and design for over a year and their attention to detail, especially considering the $69 price tag, is impressive.

I did walk away with the Anja’s - or in Gap speak the Destructed Always Skinny - but as soon as it’s cool enough to even consider pulling on pants, I think I’ll go back for more.

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posted by guest

Aug 12, 2009 5:40PM

tried on the charcoal always skinny riding jeans, fits lovely!

posted by guest

Aug 12, 2009 5:45PM

So far I've bought 2 pair of the Always Skinny in different washes and I have to say they really are fantastic. Great fit, great washes, even better price!

posted by guest

Aug 12, 2009 8:07PM

the second i read this i drove an hour to the closest mall considering I'm living in the middle of know where this summer..... and I have to say these jeans are kind of amazing, especially for the price and were totally worth the drive... i got the always skinny riding pants in navy blue and a pair of the always skinny jeans.... the fit is flawless, there just great!

posted by The Aesthete

Aug 12, 2009 9:30PM

I tried on the "anja" pair too and was pleasantly surprised. It finally looks like gap is coming out of its post 90's slump.

posted by guest

Aug 13, 2009 7:35AM

They are HOT does anyone know if they stock them in the UK? I have to say when I saw the title for this post though I was like "ew, all scrawny!"

posted by deathofadame

Aug 13, 2009 8:42AM

...I'm going to be brave and try they're curvy jeans. I been outta the loop with Gap jeans for about 2+ years since I got a lil extra "junk".. They used to be my Swear By jeans but haven't fit well at all lately. I'll give a second chance tho.

http://vinesteet.blogspot.com/

posted by guest

Aug 13, 2009 10:20AM

The always skinny jeans are on sale on the Gap website for prices ranging from 39.50-49.50 . . . just an fyi if you're not close to a Gap!

posted by ifiweretaller

Aug 13, 2009 11:17AM

Can anyone tell me what the leg opening measurement is on the always skinny jeans? I have small calfs and ankles and want to know if a trip uptown is worthwhile. Thanks!

posted by guest

Aug 13, 2009 11:33AM

i tried them on too and i love them, too bad my cash flow at the moment does not support my jean habit

posted by guest

Aug 13, 2009 11:47AM

Do they fit true to size? Or more like regular Gap stuff?

posted by mollymc18

Aug 13, 2009 9:51PM

Tried them on today, and bought 2 pairs! I got the boot cut and the skinny. Great washes, and seriously great fit. They fit true to size, and were most definitely not your typical Gap jeans, which until now have always reminded me of the stretched out, sagging backside they gave me my freshmen year of high school. Would DEFINITELY recommend them!

posted by guest

Aug 14, 2009 11:47AM

http://jezebel.com/5337455/roisin-murphy-calls-lady-gaga-a-poor-imitation-of-me-katie-holmes-is-launching-a-fashion-line

Haha. I love how Fashionista is a thinly veiled ad board these days.

posted by Britt Aboutaleb

Aug 14, 2009 2:02PM

sorry if there's any confusion guest 12 - i thought it was pretty clear they gave me the jeans when i said the only reason i got myself uptown was because i'd been promised a pair. we get a lot of free shit, but we only write about it if we actually like it & i always disclose its source. & for the record, i write about a lot of shit i pay for, too. though i think where it comes from is irrelevant as long as i state my opinions honestly.

posted by guest

Aug 14, 2009 2:59PM

Britt-
I appreciate that you're attempting to address the concerns of guest 12 (a concern I also share), but I feel that you're response is a bit disingenuous.

At best, your original post was intentionally vague, at worst, a deliberate misrepresentation.
Re-reading it, I can see how it MIGHT be interpreted that the jeans were free, but it is by no means obvious.

It would be appreciated and would do much for the site's credibility if in the future Fashionista would CLEARLY state whether a featured product was a promotional gift or not.

posted by Britt Aboutaleb

Aug 14, 2009 3:10PM

it was neither intentionally vague nor a deliberate misrepresentation. clearly if it was either i wouldn't have bothered responding to the previous comment. the gap isn't even open at 9 am -- did you think i went there at the crack of dawn to buy a pair of jeans and patrick robinson just happened to be hanging out while waiters dished coffee? how is it less than crystal clear that i went intending to walk away with gifted jeans? must i put FREE in the title? if the pants were crap i wouldn't have written about them. i try to avoid engaging in such split hairs with commenters because it goes on forever, but i've always been very clear about whether or not a particular item i review was gifted or purchased and feel very strongly about the matter. if you feel otherwise, i'm sorry & in no way expect you to trust anything you read here.

posted by guest

Aug 14, 2009 4:37PM

So readers of this site are required to have familiarity with the Gap's hours of operation in order to somehow divine that you are receiving and writing about free stuff?

That's not how it works: You are the writer. The onus is on you to make full, clear and honest disclosures to your readers. How hard is that? It's not just the right thing to do, it would also have preempted the whole discussion and kept your credibility from taking a hit.

posted by Abby Gardner

Aug 14, 2009 4:45PM

Guest 16, I think the majority of people in America have some familiarity with the Gap's hours of operation. But that aside, as the site's editor, I also thought the point was clear. When someone questioned her, Britt explained it. Now I've explained it, too. No one was trying to pull a fast one on you or anyone else who reads the site.

posted by guest

Aug 14, 2009 10:26PM

It was not clear that the jeans were a freebie.

posted by guest

Aug 14, 2009 11:07PM

Sorry, I'm with 12, 14, 16, and 18. AKA all the commenters who aren't editors of this site. You weren't clear that the jeans were a blogger freebie. That failure to disclose is your bad, not your readers'.

posted by rockferry

Aug 15, 2009 12:51AM

Abby and Britt,

I read the post once and never picked up on the fact that the jeans were free. When Jezebel posted that, I came back, re-read the whole post thoroughly, and still didn't see what they were talking about.

I really don't have any problem with you getting free jeans - every job has perks, and that's one of the ones that comes with working in fashion - and a positive review is as good as any, but if you get something for free, why not be as candid as possible? A parenthetical disclosure is all you need.

A bunch of your readers are trying to tell you that it was unclear, and all I see is defensiveness. I don't see any of the nastiness typical of some Fashionista commenters, but you guys don't seem to think that our opinion is valid or worth considering on this matter, even when we're pretty well-equipped to tell you how we read the post.

posted by Britt Aboutaleb

Aug 15, 2009 1:32AM

If I didn't consider our readers' opinions valuable I wouldn't bother responding - in fact I think this is the most involved I've ever gotten in a comment thread, so clearly I find the comments worth considering.

At the first sign of confusion I made it clear that a) the jeans were free and b) i was never trying to dupe anyone. So at this point I'm not sure what you'd like me to say. If you read Fashionista regularly, you'd know that over the past two years I've always acknowledged when a reviewed product was gifted, and hopefully you understand that there'd be no reason for me to trick you now. I've apologized for the confusion & will try to be more explicit in the future.

The real point is that I like the jeans. I'd like them if I bought them, if I found them in the garbage, if they landed on my stoop, if they popped up in my closet, whatever, however I came into possession of them and that's what I was trying to share with you. So by all means, carry on the discussion, but there's nothing left for me to say so I'll just listen from here on out.

posted by guest

Aug 15, 2009 2:02AM

does it really matter whether or not she got the jeans for free? all i care about is now i know where i can pick up some good denim that isn't expensive.

posted by guest

Aug 15, 2009 2:02AM

does it really matter whether or not she got the jeans for free? all i care about is now i know where i can pick up some good denim that isn't expensive.

posted by guest

Aug 15, 2009 12:33PM

Britt: "If you read Fashionista regularly, you'd know that over the past two years I've always acknowledged when a reviewed product was gifted..."

Here are a just handful of posts where it's not disclosed whether the item(s) being discussed were given to the writer for free, or not:

A glowing review of the Standard Grill:
http://fashionista.com/2009/06/high_standards.php

$600 laptop bags:
http://fashionista.com/2009/07/clutching_the_future.php#more

$250 sunglasses:
http://fashionista.com/2008/11/through_artist-doodled_wayfare.php

Anything this site has ever written on Hayden Harnett:
http://fashionista.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=6&tag=Hayden%20Harnett&limit=20

A pair of $92 earrings:
http://fashionista.com/2009/05/mast_appeal.php

Skincare products whose total cost is $215:
http://fashionista.com/2009/05/fly_girls.php

A $100 perfume:
http://fashionista.com/2008/12/that_christmas_smell.php

And that was just what I turned up on a single, very short, jaunt through the archives. I found one post where this site took it upon itself to mention that items it was reviewing were gifts:
http://fashionista.com/2009/05/the_story_morning_glory.php

I'm not implying that getting free stuff to review is untoward -- but the onus is on you guys to disclose when that's the case. Clearly and completely. So readers can be aware of the potential for any conflict of interest, and so you guys can maintain your credibility.

You asked, Britt, what we want you to do now that you've admitted your error? I have a couple ideas:

1. Apologise for misleading your readers
2. Update your misleadingly worded post accordingly
3. Develop a coherent, site-wide policy on conflict-of-interest disclosures. And then adhere to it from now on.

posted by Britt Aboutaleb

Aug 15, 2009 12:58PM

1. i have apologized, i believe this is the third time now.
2. i'm not the editor of fashionista, abby is, so i can't make changes to an already published story
3. out of all the stories linked above, i wrote ONE, the one in which it says the pants were a gift.

& since 16,19 & 24 are the same, pretty upset person, can you just email if you want to continue this? britt@fashionista.com - thanks.

posted by guest

Aug 16, 2009 4:31PM

Haha this is why britt sucks! she's FAT

posted by guest

Aug 16, 2009 11:05PM

in all fairness to blog editors, no one questions the integrity of placements in print magazines, who's editors get just as much (usually more) free shit. gifting has been a standard pr practice for years. can you point out a single instance of print editorials disclosing freebies? advertisers getting preferential treatment is a different story.

posted by guest

Aug 18, 2009 10:35AM

I think it is very smart of GAP to offer free pairs of jeans to influential fashion bloggers. I will say that I had no idea from reading this post that they were free. It comes off like you want a pair not that you were getting them for free. There is no mention of the word free in the title or the post. It should be clear.

posted by guest

Aug 18, 2009 11:13AM

to those who care if the jeans were free, you do realize that everything, and i do mean everything you read about in magazines from trips to tropical islands to new wardrobes to chapstick to whatever, it's ALL free. all of it.

posted by guest

Aug 19, 2009 5:16PM

i think the problem here is that most of the people who read this site now are just regular fashion lovers who don't read into the posts. the comments section of this site used to be a lot more insider, meaning, full of commenters who know better than to think that a "debut" with "cute boys with coffee" (clearly a reference to the out of work male models that are always hired as waiters at events) and "Patrick Robinson" (clearly not someone who hangs out in GAP stores unless it's promotional) simply refers to shopping in the store the day the line hit the racks. but also, guest 27 really says it well.

posted by guest

Aug 20, 2009 9:01AM

I don't usually comment on blog posts but had to throw my 2 cents in. As someone who used to work for the Fashion Dept of a large magazine it is VERY true that we got many, many things for free. However, I do think that the way this blog is presented (friend and peer) and the conversational tone makes the line a little more blurry when it comes to gifted items. I think a lot of readers look to Britt & Co. to give them a real opinion (as opposed to a glossy mag) and want to know when you're raving about a product that you got for free. I don't think anyone is implying that you're being disingenuous but in keeping with the spirit of the blog it might be easier to just state it clearly somewhere. (And I do love the site and think Abby is doing a great job)

posted by guest

Aug 20, 2009 9:09AM

Adding a happy note, I ordered three pairs of these jeans after reading Brit's review (since, free or not, she obviously loved them) and can say that I have found my new favorite jeans. The fact that they are about $100 less than any other pair in my closet is just icing on the cupcake. One note though, if you are taller than 5'8", DEFINITELY order the longs. I ordered the regulars, and they are just barely long enough, I'm hoping they don't shrink. They do amazing things to your butt though, I'm in love