This week, USretailer Gapannounced that sales were down 7% in April.It"s the latest in a series of slumps, which included the announcement lastyear that itwould be closing 175 shops.So asthe brand once (and perhaps still) famed for its brilliant basics and excellent denim struggles to re-establish itself, our fashion team recalls their best Gap purchases and muse on how the store can revive its fortunes.

The denim slip dress which gets better with age

Victoria Moss, Senior fashion news and features editor

I remember when Gap launched in the UK, we all wanted those branded sweatshirts - there was something so cool and exotic about anything American back then - things that only kids lucky enough to be taken on Disneyland Florida holidays rather than Eurocamp knew about.I think I also had some rather fetching printed leggings I wore with Doctor Martens boots.

I still wear the odd thing from Gap.I have a denim slip dress from a few seasons ago that gets better with age - and is always complemented whenever I wear it.I have a pair of blue pyjamas that my mother bought me for Christmas a couple of years ago.They"re pale blue with navy piping in a crisp cotton - a perfect classic in other words.My husband hates them.But they"re my favourite.The cashmere crew neck jumpers from last winter were so great -and in chic colours - navy, grey and camel - what more could you want?There are still goodies to unearth, but the store experience currently is like a jumble sale organised by toddlers.I tried - and failed - to pick up some plain t shirts recently.Piles of messy cotton drove me out.The design direction seems as chaotic, it feels like they can"t quite grasp what it is they want it to be.Which is a shame.The Americana-tinted classics should be a no-brainer for them.But somewhere, in the face of rising high street competition and a more fashion-literate, demanding customer they"ve lost their way.I do hope they find it again.

The Valentino for Gapparka I still wear today

Hattie Brett, Deputy lifestyle director

My most successful Gappurchases are probably more recent than most - namely 2010 when, in an attempt to move more upmarket, the store did a series of designer collaborations.Pierre Hardy for Gapboots!Alexander Wang for Gaptrenches!And a Valentino for Gapparka that I still wear today.Ironically, the man at the helm who secured these designer collaborations - CEO Patrick Robinson - was ousted a year later amid declining sales.The accusations were that by focusing on high fashion, he"d forgotten about what Gapshould do best: the perfect white shirt, an amazing T-shirt as well as tartan and red cashmere at Christmas time.

Arguably those affordable basics are back in stock at Gapthese days.In fact, as I type I"m wearing a white T-shirt I"d consider pretty much perfect for £22, which I found when buying baby clothes there this weekend.But I had to fight through shop assistants hurling 30% off scratch cards at me as I walked in the door and wade through mountains of stock before I found the T-shirt at the back of the store.And it"s only in writing this that I"ve even learnt that you can buy Gaponline.So maybe it"s unfair to single out the clothes when talking of Gap"s demise.As retail guru Mary Portas put it recently, to survive on this very brutal British high street shopping needs to be an experience, not just a necessity.

The leopard print leggings love affair

Olivia Buxton-Smith, Fashion assistant

Growing up with a sister similar in age to me, meant my mum often resorted to buying us the same items of clothing, or at least variations on a theme.One of our favourite things to twin in were our leopard print leggings fromGap(looking back this was quite fashion forward for a an eight and a ten year old).This love-in came to an abrupt end one day when we went to visit our cool cousins who lived in the country-side and they were all wearing parachute trousers (probablyalso fromGap), but they served us very well until then.

Lululemon quality sportswear at a fraction of the price

Carla Bradley, Acting fashion production editor

Gaphas always held a special place in my heart.I always buy their brilliantbasics (jumpers, vests etc.) but what I really love is their activewear range.It"s genuinely good to work out in, and with a range of very modern-looking styles, it"s my go-to if I need to refresh my gym wardrobe.Plus, it"s afraction of the price of Lululemon and Sweaty Betty but just as good.

The baby-blue fleece which was the coolest thing I owned

Alice Newbold, Junior style editor

I am ashamed to admit that I once owned a fleece.Not just any fleece, a baby blue fleece.In other words, a huge, torso enveloping item committing two cardinal fashion sins: fleece material and the baby blue colour.The coolest thing about it was the classic GAP motif emblazoned across the front.I wore it non-stop for an entirewinter with Adidas tracksuit bottoms and Ripcurl jeans on rotation, and then promptly got rid once I became a teenager, and developed amore nuanced sense of style.In cotton and in a grown-up colour (read: grey or navy) I would still wear a Gap logo jumper though, the motif is still as strong as it was to a Nineties youngster.It would be very Vetements now.

The boyfriend jeans which put an end tomonths of searching

Bethan Holt, Digitalfashion editor

My quest for the perfect pair of boyfriend jeans was a long,drawn-out affair.It involved endless scrolling through online stores, countless depressing changing room moments and a desperate plea for help on Twitter.It might sound melodramatic but there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to get in on a trend simply because you can"t find the right waist to thigh ratio on what shouldbe a simple pair of jeans.It was after a tip-off from a friend that I went to Gap and finally discovered a style which seemed to have been created especially for me.I bought three pairs in varying washes and still rely on them at the weekends now.I"d be back at Gap in a heartbeat if I caught wind that they"d created the ultimate cropped flare/ raw hemmed straight jean right now.

Childrenswear for grown women and the jacket that went up in flames

Emily Cronin, Fashion features editor

You can probably graph the positive correlation between a retailer"s financial health and grown womens" attempts to fit into pieces from its children"s line.The last time I was a point on that graph was winter 2009.Making a last-minute stop atGapKids" Fifth Avenue flagship en route to JFK for a return trip to London, I silently prayed that the gods of retail stockrooms would deliver unto me a Stella McCartney forGapKids leopard intarsia jumper in the largest size available.Instead, they gave me a medium.Reader, I tried it on.And took it off.And went to the airport empty-handed, consoling myself with the assumption that there would be another, adult-sized collaboration the following winter.Still waiting, Stella.Still waiting.

Then there was the denim jacket.If, like me, you"ve ever gone on a sartorial jag with a specific garment, then you"ll understand why it"s still so distressing to recall my favourite denim jacket going up in flames.The jacket-a classicGapstyle in a medium-blue wash, purposely bought one size too small for that snug-about-the-shoulders fit-went everywhere with me from around 2002 through December 2005.It toughened up vintage dresses, kept me warm-ish in an outerwear pinch on chilly city breaks, and layered nicely over a collegiate hoodie.Until December 2005, that is.Coming in from the rain, I tossed it over a radiator to dry, and then...Fire alarms.I still miss it.

The perfect affordable cashmere jumper

Emma Spedding, Acting fashion news and features editor

The best thing I ever had fromGapwas a navy crew neck cashmere jumper.At under £80, this was a cashmere classic that I could actually afford when I was on student loan budget in myearly twenties.As Alexa Chung shows, a navy simple knit it is something you can wear almost every day.And trust me, I wore that navyGapjumper so much that it became something of a second skin.

The best Christmas present ever ( for an 8 year-old)

Krissy Turner, Fashion co-ordinator

When I was around 8 or 9, me, my cousin and my sister all put this hoodie on our Christmas lists so we could wear it at the same time, and were over the moon when we all got different pastel coloured versions.

I wore my baby blue one to death, starting with that Christmas day I got it, then pulling it out for every school mufti day for at least a year- to myMum"s disapproval.By this time,it had been washed so many times that it was stiff as cardboardbut I loved it, and was gutted when it had to be thrown away.Of course, thatgave me the opportunity to ask for a lilac one the following Christmas, and so the cycle continued.