We went back through the tall sections at Old Navy, Gap, Athleta and J.Crew this morning to see what moved since September 9. Three of the four let a promotion expire in the same week, which is the first time we have seen that happen all at once, and it produced a clear answer to a question readers keep asking: how do you tell a sale price that will hold from one that is about to go back up?
| Store | Share of tall styles on sale | Typical discount |
|---|---|---|
| Old Navy | almost 90% | 40% off |
| Gap | 80% | 40% off |
| Athleta | about 45% | 30% off |
| J.Crew | 60% | 25% off |
The trick: read the cents
This week gave us a clean test, because three stores reset their prices at the same time and one did not. The pattern that came out of it is the same at every store.
A promotional price is a flat percentage taken off the list price, so it lands on odd endings. Half off a $39.99 legging is $19.99. Forty percent off a $148 jean is $88.50. Those prices are tied to an event with an end date, and when the event ends they go back up. At Old Navy roughly four out of five prices ending in .49 or .99 rose this week. At J.Crew four out of five prices ending in .50 rose.
A clearance price is set deliberately, and stores use distinctive endings for it. At Old Navy and Gap that is 97 cents. At J.Crew it is 99 cents. Every single Old Navy tall price ending in .97 held exactly this week, through an expiry that moved almost everything around it. Every J.Crew tall clearance price held too.
So when you are looking at a tall item and wondering whether to buy now: check the cents. A clearance ending means the price will hold and the risk is your size selling out. A promotional ending means the discount is the temporary part, and waiting costs money.
Old Navy ended its half off event
Old Navy put nearly its whole tall section at 50% off last week, and that event lasted about a week. The share of the tall range at half off or better fell from almost everything to about a fifth, and roughly three quarters of the styles in stock both weeks cost more today.
Everything we named seven days ago went up. The PowerSoft leggings went from $20 to $24, the SleekTech joggers did the same, the Bounce fleece wide-leg sweatpants went from $22 back to the full $45, and the boyfriend shirt went from $20 to $32. A fall activewear group called Baseline Fleece arrived at 30% off with complete tall size runs. Details in our Old Navy report.
Athleta raised prices for a second week running
Athleta stepped its promotional rates down again, the second week in a row its tall prices have gone up, and the promotional cycle we have been tracking since late August now has four weeks behind it. The Endless High Rise Pant in Savanna went from $76 back to the full $109. The Skyline barrel pant we named last week as the best full-length tall pant on sale went from $83 to $97.
The bigger news is what arrived. Athleta moved seven jackets and a blazer into the tall range, all at full price, including an Endless Blazer cut on the numeric 0 to 16 grid. Last season’s In the Clouds Jacket is clearing at $50 in XL while the new season’s version of the same jacket lists at $149. More in our Athleta report.
J.Crew’s denim promotion ran for one week
J.Crew’s 40% off rate on tall denim expired. The tall slim-wide jean in Resin Rinse and the Charley kickout in Rinse Wash both went from $89 back to the full $148, each still carrying a complete 25 to 32 waist run.
Underneath that, the tall clearance held completely. The Stratus satin pant in Black is still $50 with a full S to XXL run, and the Gramercy empire-waist dress is still $70. Fall skirts and trousers arrived to fill in behind the summer stock. See what happened at J.Crew.
Gap held still
Gap is the exception this week. Roughly 19 of every 20 tall styles that were in stock both weeks carry exactly the same price as they did seven days ago. All five jeans and both sweaters we named last week are unchanged, every tall jean is still marked down, and the fall CashSoft knits arrived at 30% off. Read the Gap report.
How last week’s advice held up
We got the main call right and one of the smaller ones wrong.
We said Old Navy was at the start of a flat sitewide event, that the prices were as low as they would go, and to buy the activewear, fleece and tees that week. That was correct. Every piece we named costs more today, the fleece sweatpants by $22.
We said Athleta had already reset and there was nothing to rush for. That was wrong for the second week running, in the same direction. Athleta’s prices kept climbing, and the barrel pant we called the best deal in the store cost $14 more by the time the week was out. The lesson we keep relearning at this store: when an Athleta tall style you want is at 40% off with a complete size run, that is the buy, because the next step is usually 30%.
We said Gap’s denim was worth watching wash by wash. Gap did not move at all, so watching cost nothing and gained nothing.
The four best tall deals right now
High-Waisted OG Loose Jeans · Old Navy, $15 (was $60), 75% off, tall 2 to 18, Ecru
A full-length loose leg with the complete 2 to 18 run at a clearance price that held through the expiry. The cheapest full-length tall jean at any of the four stores.
High Rise ’90s Slim Straight Jeans · Gap, $35 (was $120), 70% off, tall 27 to 32, Poetic black
The deepest cut on a full-length tall jean at Gap. The other washes of this style are $44 and up.
Pinnacle High Rise Trouser · Athleta, $90 (was $129), 30% off, tall 0 to 16, five colors
Savanna, Truffle, Bone, Black and Navy, each with the complete 0 to 16 run, and the only Athleta group that held its price while the rest of the store rose.
Tall Stratus pant in textured satin · J.Crew, $50 (was $148), 65% off, tall S to XXL, Black
Black is the only colorway at this price and it carries the complete size run. The same pant in six other colors runs $70 to $100.
What this means for the next few weeks
Three stores finished a promotional cycle in the same week, which puts most of the tall range at the top of its price range right now. That argues for patience through the end of September on anything carrying a promotional ending.
Two things are worth acting on anyway. The clearance at Old Navy and J.Crew held through a week that moved everything else, and several of those pieces still have complete size runs, so they will end by selling out. And Athleta’s new tall outerwear is the kind of thing that sells out in the good sizes before it ever gets marked down, especially the blazer cut on the numeric grid.
For fall shopping generally, the introductory rates are where the value sits. Old Navy’s Baseline Fleece group and Gap’s CashSoft knits both landed at 30% off with complete tall size runs this week, which is better than either of those usually starts.
Check the fit guides before you commit: Old Navy, Gap, Athleta and J.Crew.
Prices, sizes, and stock checked September 16, 2026 at the four stores we follow. Discount figures are typical across the tall styles we looked at. Some links are affiliate links; see our disclosure.