In Defense of Shopping at the Mall

In Defense of Shopping at the Mall

The mall is dead. Long live mall brands.
best mall brands

By Megan Collins | Last Updated: Oct 26 2023 | 1 min read

While the physical mall—the capitalist mecca too many of us spent too many hours in our teen and pre-teen years before calling our parents collect to “HiComePickMeUpThanksBye!”—may be dying, mall brands feel more relevant than ever before.

From Abercrombie enjoying a renaissance with millennials to Victoria’s Secret retooling its runway show, the brands of our youth are doing their best to age gracefully with us.

And I for one am here for it. Despite annoying pushback on social media whenever we recommend a sweater from Banana Republic, or a pair of carpenter pants from Hollister, there’s more guys out there seeking clothes that are stylish and affordable, not high concept and expensive.

Why? A couple reasons:

1) Not everyone can spend a lot of money on clothes.

2) Not everyone wants to spend a lot of money on their clothes.

Yes, I am all for thrifting and buying quality products so you can own and wear them longer. I’m also cognizant of the fact that we live in a world where bidding over asking price on Grailed for the perfect pair of 34×30 Unis Gio Skinny chinos may not be realistic for every guy. That hitting up Gap for a new pair of work pants might be the best, most realistic option.

And I’m here to say, that’s a good option!

So, do what you want with the malls, but leave the brands alone.

Shop the best mall brands, according to Team SG:

Abercrombie

Banana Republic

Express

I started Style Girlfriend to help guys look, feel, and act their best.