Crap. Athleta is becomng part of what it refers to as the “Gap Inc. family of brands”. Much as I like Gap clothing, I’m not thrilled about this, because I liked having them as a more quirky independent kind of place. Also, Gap doesn’t ship overseas either, so no benefit there for me.
Though as I think of it further, there is an upside to this move: a major retailer has realized the need for athletic clothes and athlete-cut regular clothes for women. As long as their selection isn’t cut back or made bland, this could be a Good Thing. (The two items I recently bought from Athleta fit well and are well made. The dress, especially, might look a little better if I were currently a little less jiggly, but I can’t blame it for that – and the fabric is substantial and not overly clingy, so this is only my own prejudice speaking.)
When Lands’ End was bought by Sears, I was worried that their their quality would suffer. It didn’t for a long time, but in the past year I think they’ve definitely gone downhill. I don’t have a problem with Gap’s own quality most of the time, so I hope that won’t be a problem with Athleta.