The Gap, Their First Store, And Jeans That Fit

On this day in 1969, the first Gap store opened in San Francisco. The clothing retailer, that has become one of the biggest names in American casual fashion, turned 50 years old in 2019.

Doris and Don Fisher, the founders of the company, opened the first store of the retail behemoth in San Francisco in 1969 on Ocean Avenue and named it The Gap, in reference to the generation gap. The reason for opening up the store was simple: Don was unable to find a pair of jeans that fit.

The store originally sold jeans from Levi Strauss & Co. and records, appealing to the counterculture movement going on in the city at the time. However, in 1974, the company decided to release its own private label clothing, which would change retail fashion in the United States. The company went public as Gap Inc. on May 19, 1976, offering 1.2 million shares of stock at $18 a share…. read more >