We went back through the tall sections at Old Navy, Gap, Athleta and J.Crew this morning. Across all four stores, almost 85% of the tall styles we looked at are discounted, up from 75% on August 12, and that is the highest reading we have recorded since we started this in June. 📉
| Store | Share of tall styles on sale | Typical discount |
|---|---|---|
| Old Navy | 100% | 40% off |
| Gap | 80% | 40% off |
| Athleta | 40% | 30% off |
| J.Crew | 70% | 30% off |
Three stores moved into end-of-summer clearance in the same ten-day window. The fourth moved out of it. Both are worth understanding before you shop.
Old Navy discounted essentially everything
Nearly every tall style at Old Navy is on sale. The only exceptions we came across are Old Navy x Disney Minnie Mouse pieces.
This looks like a single promotion. Almost 85% of the sale sits at exactly 40% off, and every category we track (tees, activewear, jeans, dresses, pants, sweaters, blouses) comes back at a 40% typical discount. Prices fell right across the store this week, and everything we checked stayed on sale, which is a first for this summer.
It also undid last week’s story. The jeans Old Navy pushed back to full price on August 12 are all discounted again, deeper than before: The Arc Mid-Rise Barrel Jeans are $30, which is $10 under their original launch price. Full breakdown in our Old Navy report.
Gap’s jeans are the real find
Gap’s tall sale share climbed from 65% to 80%, with a large batch of styles newly discounted and the typical discount holding at 40%. The denim is the interesting part. Gap’s tall jeans are at a 50% typical discount, the deepest category at any store this week, and several styles carry the complete tall 27 to 33 waist run.
The Low Rise Long & Lean Jeans are 70% off in eight washes at $26 to $29, nearly all with full size runs. Deep discounts with intact tall sizing are rare enough that this is our pick of the week across all four stores. More in what’s happening at Gap.
J.Crew stopped pausing
J.Crew’s clearance had eased on August 12 and it picked up again this week, with a batch of styles getting deeper cuts and very few going back up. Tall dresses are 85% on sale at a typical discount of almost 40%.
The catch is size availability. Most of J.Crew’s deepest cuts are down to one or two sizes, and a number of tall styles disappeared from the site entirely this week, including the patch-pocket pullover dress we had flagged three weeks running. The exception is the Tall Kate straight-leg pant, 55% off at $63 with every tall size from 0 to 16 in stock. Details in our J.Crew report.
Athleta moved the other way, for two reasons
Athleta’s tall sale share fell from 55% to almost 40%, and both causes matter.
First, the 30% off promotion that produced last week’s numbers expired. a batch of tall styles went back to full price, and they are essentially the same ones that were 30% off ten days ago, including the Jetset Bomber we named as that week’s best buy at $118. It is $169 again.
Second, Athleta’s fall collection arrived, a batch of new tall styles across many colorways, almost all at full price, which grew the tall selection and pulled the sale share down further. Full rundown in our Athleta report.
Athleta’s genuine clearance is untouched, though. Tall jackets are still at a 55% median discount, the deepest single category anywhere this week.
The four best deals standing right now
Low Rise Long & Lean Jeans · Gap, $26 to $29 (was $90 to $100), 70% off, tall 27 to 33, eight washes, 731 reviews at 4.6
Deep cut, proven style, complete tall waist run in almost every color. Nothing else this week matches all three.
Tall Kate straight-leg pant in four-season stretch · J.Crew, $63 (was $138), 55% off, tall 0 to 16, Navy, 347 reviews at 4.58
Full price ten days ago, and every tall size is still there.
Run Wild Vest · Athleta, $35 (was $119), 70% off, tall S to XL, Dove
The deepest Athleta cut with a complete tall size run, and it survived the promo expiring because it is real clearance.
SoSoft Mock-Neck Fair Isle Sweater · Old Navy, $7 (was $50), 85% off, tall XL and XXL
Fourth straight week at $7 in the same two sizes. Still the deepest discount in the entire dataset.
What this means for the next two weeks
Three stores clearing summer at once, in late August, with fall stock landing in the same week, is a floor-space story rather than a demand story. Old Navy, Gap and J.Crew all need room for what is arriving, and Athleta just showed you what the arrival looks like: new collections at full price, and the promo that made last month look cheap quietly ending.
The practical read: buy summer-weight clearance now, because the discounts are as wide as they have been all year and the tall size runs are still unusually intact at Gap. Do not wait on new fall arrivals in your size, though. Athleta’s Skyline Zip Pant and J.Crew’s corduroy Zoe barrel pant both launched with complete tall runs, and complete tall runs are the first thing to go.
Check the fit guides before you commit: Old Navy, Gap, Athleta and J.Crew.
Prices, sizes, and stock checked August 22, 2026 at the four stores we track. Discount figures are typical across the tall styles we looked at. Some links are affiliate links; see our disclosure.