Five-year-old Alice Jacob had a question for Gap: Why were the clothes in the girls section so girly?
While looking at GapKids’ online with her mother, Alice noticed the girls section didn’t offer the kinds of clothes the fit her style, the Washington Post reported. So she wrote to Gap, asking if they could expand the girls section beyond “pink and princesses” or consider eliminating gendered kids clothing sections entirely.
A few weeks later, Gap CEO Jeff Kirwan responded: “You are right.”
“I think we can do a better job offering even more choices that appeal to everyone,” Kirwan wrote in an email to Alice, as reported by the Post. “I’ve talked with our designers and we’re going to work on even more fun stuff that I think you’ll like.”
While Kirwan pointed out certain items in the GapKids girls clothing line he thought Alice would like — “tees with dinosaurs, firetrucks, sharks, footballs” — he said there’s still room for improvement.
In a piece in the Post, Alice’s mother Beth said her daughter was surprised by Kirwan’s response — and that Kirwan promised a Chewbacca-themed shirt, per Alice’s advice, that will hit store shelves this April.
Gap came under fire in August for back-to-school campaign for kids that featured boys’ ads with slogans like “the little scholar,” and girls’ ads with “the social butterfly.”
Read Kirwan’s full response to Alice below:
Hi Alice,
I got hold of the letters you sent in and wanted to be the one to reply to you. I’m Jeff and I’m the head of Gap.
You sound like a really cool kid with a great sense of style.
At GapKids, we try to always offer a wide range of styles and choices for girls and boys. This includes a selection of girls’ tees with dinosaurs, firetrucks, sharks, footballs and some of our superheroes. Our latest Disney Collection, Beauty and the Beast, is also all about the strength and bravery of girls, and that’s something that’s really important to us.
But, you are right, I think we can do a better job offering even more choices that appeal to everyone. I’ve talked with our designers and we’re going to work on even more fun stuff that I think you’ll like.
In the meantime, I’m going to send you a few of my favorite tees from our latest collection. Please check them out and let us know what you think. Our customers’ comments are very important to us, and they help us create even better products with each season.
Thank you again,
Jeff
Gap Brand President & CEO
