After trying on shirts at Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Gap, I found the most expensive items weren't worth the splurge

• I tried on similar polos at Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Gap .
• The Banana Republic shirt felt great, but I didn't love how it looked on me.
• The value and fit of the Old Navy polo made it the most compelling option.

I'm a very simple dresser and try to keep my textile waste to a minimum . However, raising two kids means staining a lot of clothes, and I'm not trying to break the bank on something that will invariably be covered in sunscreen and ketchup in two weeks' time.

I usually stick to clothes with no logos, bold patterns, or eye-catching details — pieces I look and feel good in but nothing too loud.

I frequently find what I'm looking for at three of the men's apparel options from Gap Inc. — Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy. Founded in 1969, Gap Inc. is the largest specialty retailer in the United States and operates more than 2,500 stores worldwide.

That's why I decided to take a trip to all three stores in search of a new polo. I find that a polo-style shirt is often a good option for summer occasions that call for a little more formality than a T-shirt. It shows that I've made an effort to look nice, but it's a bit less stuffy than a button-down. Here's how it went.

I began my journey at Old Navy.

I started my trip at Old Navy, which has over 1,200 locations around the world.

Old Navy stores are typically larger than their Gap and Banana Republic counterparts, but I had no trouble finding a few different polo-style shirt options on the shelves.

I liked the fit of the Old Navy polo.

I tried on Old Navy's $23 uniform pique polo in black. This shirt was exactly what I'd expect from a polo — a pique-knit fabric with two buttons and a ribbed collar.

The blend of 60% cotton and 40% polyester felt sturdy, though maybe a bit beefier than ideal for outdoor events in the summer.

When I tried it on, it had the feel — appropriately enough, given the name — of the team-branded shirts I once wore to coach high-school football. It wasn't especially luxurious, but I liked the way it fit.

The shirt hugged my shoulders and arms in a flattering way, and it had some extra room in the belly — valuable in case the shirt shrinks or the belly expands.

Next, I took a trip to Banana Republic.

My next stop was at Banana Republic, which has over 400 stores worldwide and feels like the most upscale of Gap Inc.'s brands.

I visited a location in Midtown Manhattan — a two-level store where plump, low-slung couches, elegant finishes, and well-tended displays gave the feel of a higher-end retail experience.

Looking for something that might appear a bit more refined than Old Navy's polo, I found the luxury-touch pique polo in black, which, at $40, was almost double the price of the Old Navy option.

However, the difference in quality was evident by touch alone. The 100% cotton fabric was more silky than the coarser cloth from Old Navy , a difference the store attributes to mercerization, a way of treating cotton for a more lustrous look and feel.

The Banana Republic polo felt great, but I didn't love how it looked on me.

Banana Republic's polo featured a four-button collar that plunged nearly to the midpoint of the shirt. This gave the models on its website a cool, vintage style, but it made me look and feel a little bit silly — it was more of a statement than I like to make with my clothes.

The fabric felt great, but the fit was just OK. It seemed like it flared out a little toward the bottom, but it might have just looked that way because the buttons threw off my sense of the balance of the shirt.

My last stop was at Gap.

Last, I visited Gap, which has over 700 locations across North America and Asia. When I walked into the Manhattan store, I found this Gap location was smaller than the ones I'd shopped at before.

I typically find Gap's products fit me pretty well, and the brand offers a good mix of quality and affordability.

Despite the store's small footprint, it was bright and efficiently organized, and I had no trouble finding polo shirts on display. When I noticed that none of the pique polo shirts on the floor were available in my size, a sales associate happily went to the basement to find one for me.

The store I visited didn't have any black polos in my size, so I tried one in navy blue.

However, I wasn't a fan of how the Gap polo fit me.

I liked the feel of the 100% cotton shirt from Gap. It wasn't quite as silky as the Banana Republic option, but it was softer than the one from Old Navy and not nearly as thick.

To my surprise, though, I didn't like how the Gap shirt fit. It was fine in the shoulders and chest, but the midsection was a bit slimmer-fitting than the others, which was accentuated by the fact that the shirt was just way too long for me.

At $30, I might buy one for a specific occasion in which I knew I'd be tucking my shirt in, but ultimately, I prefer something more versatile.

Overall, I thought the shirt from Old Navy offered the best value and fit.

I didn't buy any of the shirts I tried on, but to me, the combination of value and fit made the Old Navy option by far the most compelling.

However, I'd recommend the soft feel and higher quality of the Banana Republic shirt to those more fashionable than me.

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