Welcome to Hit the Racks, an inside look at the vibiest stores in the GQ universe. This time around, we're peeling back the changing-room curtains at Banana Republic's airy SoHo flagship.
If it's been a minute since you've set foot in a Banana Republic, know that you're missing out. We're spoiled for menswear, no doubt, but BR's resurgence—several years old, at this point, has put it squarely back on the map as a go-to outpost. At least for me.
That's largely because I've seen BR lean back into the styles that made it so damn good to begin with: safari-pilled fits, straight-from-the-archives reboots of classic pieces, and menswear that that looks sharp without leaning too hard into business casual. The new Banana Republic is less worried about what I'm wearing Monday through Friday, and more about what I'll pack for my vacation days.
All that—and, sure, a job at GQ—explains why I found myself in Banana Republic's flagship store in New York's SoHo neighborhood on one hot and sunny day this spring—here’s everything I shopped (and will decidedly be making it with me on my next jet-setting adventure).
