Forth and Towne....

Is toast....

Gap shutting down Forth & Towne chain

Here's The Budget Fashionista's take...

Breaking News: Forth and Towne is Closing...

Sigh...I too am disappointed, but not surprised. When I began reading that the Gap was in trouble I knew that F&T would be the first to go.

I was able, a few weeks ago, to visit the one here in the Chicago area -- and came away very impressed and with a great deal on a lovely navy sweater ($27.00 with tax, down from 128.00!). The physical plant was gorgeous (the dressing rooms are to die for!), the service sublime, and the clothes I felt, contrary to the snarky comment in the MSNBC article, had the kind of mature style women of an age are looking for - chic not dowdy.

I'm not saying that there was not room for improvement. The sizes could go up beyond size 20 -- but even that was a kind of triumph - especially because they did not segregate the larger sizes from the smaller ones!.

At the very least, it was most definitely a store designed for grown-ups - for me it had the feel of what I would envision a modern upscale clothing salon should be.

But in all honesty, the Gap was all too tentative about this attempt at serving the over 35 woman. As far as I could tell, they didn't even start advertising the stores in the major fashion mags until this past Christmas! It was as if they wanted to do it, but didn't really want anyone to know that they were doing it. It was a "secret lover" kind of thing - like the Hermes Kelly bag an oh so rich lover would give -- and then not acknowledge you when he sees you on the street! (Not that I have any experience of that, mind you!)

Personally, I think they are making yet another bad call in closing this chain -- but then they didn't ask me.

Anyway....At least those of us who have a F&T nearby will be able to look forward to one hell of a sale! If you have one in your area, go by and savor what might have been.