19 Brands Like Aeropostale for Casual Youthful Style
Half the fun of a graphic tee is finding one no one else in your year has. That gets harder when a whole wardrobe comes from one store, and Aeropostale's hoodie wall starts to feel familiar somewhere around the third order. Its price bracket, happily, is crowded.
Below are 19 brands selling the same easy, low-cost clothes for teens and twentysomethings. Some go louder, some go plainer, and several undercut Aeropostale outright. We checked that each one is trading right now, and where a site blocked our price check we say so instead of guessing.
| Brand | Price (USD) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| H&M | Budget | Restocking basics in one order |
| Forever 21 | $19.99 to $39.99 on tops | Trend pieces you'll wear one summer |
| Old Navy | Budget | Jeans and tees for the whole house |
| American Eagle Outfitters | Not verified | Denim in a fit that suits you |
| PacSun | Mid-range | California skate and surf styling |
| Zara | Mid-range | Sharper cuts than a mall label |
| Bershka | Budget | Loud prints and baggy denim |
| Tilly's | Budget | Shopping several skate labels at once |
| Uniqlo | $29.90 tees, $59.90 jeans | Plain staples that outlast the trend |
| Buckle | Not verified | Unusual denim washes and fits |
| Hollister Co. | Budget | Soft tees with a beach-town feel |
| Cotton On | $24.99 to $79.99 | Baggy fits and cheap graphic tees |
| Skechers | Budget | Comfort shoes to finish the outfit |
| Pull & Bear | Budget | European street styling on a teen budget |
| Garage | Budget | Crop tops, bodysuits, cargos |
| Target's Wild Fable | $4.00 to $35.00 | The cheapest tee on this list |
| Roxy | $48.00 to $68.00 | Surf-adjacent dresses and knits |
| Bobeau | $48.00 to $79.00 | Growing out of graphic tees |
| Urban Outfitters | Mid-range | Vintage-leaning and indie aesthetics |
Two of those price cells read "Not verified" because both sites turned our checker away at the door. We'd sooner leave a gap than publish a number we can't stand behind.
H&M
H&M is the widest-reaching budget option here, with graphic tees, hoodies, denim and athleisure sitting in the same cart as workwear and homeware. The overlap with Aeropostale is close on price and on the relaxed, weekend-shaped fits both sell.
Where the two split is speed. H&M turns styles over faster and carries far more of them, so a hoodie you liked in March may have gone by June. Buy the piece when you see it.
Best for: Restocking tees, socks and basics in a single order.
Forever 21
Forever 21 prices its tops between $19.99 and $39.99 USD, which puts it under Aeropostale on most of the wardrobe. A Lace-Trim Cami Tank runs $19.99, Denim Bermuda Shorts $34.99, and shipping is free over $75.
The styling is bolder than Aeropostale's. Think ruched bustiers and crochet button-downs rather than a logo across the chest. That makes it the better stop for a going-out top and the worse one for a hoodie you'll wear for three years.
Best for: Trend pieces you'll wear hard for one season.
Old Navy
Old Navy sells budget-tier casualwear across women's, men's, kids and baby, which is why it's the family default rather than a teen destination. Tees, pull-on shorts, fleece and jeans make up most of the range.
Compared with Aeropostale, the styling is plainer and the sizing runs deeper. No one buys an Old Navy tee for the print. They buy four because the price makes it easy. We go further into its alternatives in brands like Old Navy.
Best for: Denim and tees when more than one person needs them.
American Eagle Outfitters
American Eagle Outfitters is the denim specialist of this group, running one of the deepest fit and inseam ranges in US mall retail. Jeans are the reason to go, and the rest of the range follows the same soft, worn-in brief.
Its site blocked our automated price check, so we're not quoting figures. What we can say is that AE sits above Aeropostale on finish and construction while chasing the same age group.
Best for: Finding a jean fit that works instead of settling for one.
Shop American Eagle Outfitters Now
PacSun
PacSun is a mid-range California retailer built on surf and skate styling, and it stocks outside labels alongside its own house range. Graphic tees, hoodies and cargos carry the bulk of it.
The West Coast accent is the difference. Aeropostale reads collegiate, PacSun reads boardwalk, and the two rarely produce the same outfit. Anyone drawn to the wider skate look will find more of it in our 90s streetwear guide.
Best for: Skate-shop styling without a skate-shop markup.
Zara
Zara is the mid-range step up on this list, selling trend-led clothing with a European cut that reads sharper than most mall labels. Its basics section holds joggers, tees and casual dresses at the accessible end.
You'll pay above Aeropostale prices and get a cleaner silhouette for it. Stock moves fast and sizing runs small, so try before you commit if a store is near you.
Best for: One or two pieces that lift an otherwise plain outfit.
Bershka
Bershka is Inditex's budget-priced younger sibling to Zara, aimed squarely at teenagers and built on oversized hoodies, statement graphic tees and wide denim.
Bershka is where Aeropostale's on-trend instinct goes louder. Prints are bigger, colours are brighter, and the cuts are baggier than anything on a US mall rack. It ships to the US from its own site.
Best for: Baggy denim and prints that get noticed across a room.
Tilly's
Tilly's is a budget-tier multi-brand retailer for skate and surf clothing, selling apparel, shoes and accessories from dozens of labels under one roof rather than pushing a house line.
That's the trade against Aeropostale. You lose the single, consistent house look and gain a much wider pool of graphics and silhouettes to pick from. It's the practical option when two people in a household want opposite things.
Best for: Comparing several skate labels in one basket.
Uniqlo
Uniqlo sells plain Japanese basics built to survive the wash, with UT graphic tees at $29.90 USD and Baggy Straight Jeans at $59.90 USD. Its collaborations are where the graphics live.
There's no logo across the chest here, which is the whole point. A Uniqlo tee is the piece you build the rest of the outfit around, and it costs more up front than Aeropostale because it comes back from the dryer the same shape it went in.
Best for: Staples that outlive the trend that prompted them.
Buckle
Buckle is a US denim-led retailer carrying both its own labels and outside brands, with a range of washes and rises that runs wider than most mall chains bother with.
Its site is fully script-rendered and wouldn't give up prices to our checker, so we're not quoting any. The pull is the denim wall, which leans rockier and more decorated than Aeropostale's.
Best for: Washes and hardware you won't see on three other people.
Hollister Co.
Hollister Co. is Abercrombie & Fitch's budget-priced teen brand, built on soft tees, fleece and denim with a Southern California beach-town look running through all of it.
Of everything on this list, Hollister sits closest to Aeropostale on price, age group and store format. The separation is atmosphere. One leans campus, the other leans coastline, and most shoppers pick on that alone.
Best for: Soft basics when the mall trip has to be quick.
Cotton On
Cotton On is an Australian chain selling US-priced casualwear from $24.99 to $79.99. A 90s Boatneck 3/4 Sleeve top runs $24.99 USD and a Super Baggy Jean $79.99 USD, with delivery free over $75.
Its denim block is where it separates from Aeropostale, running looser and lower than the American mall standard. Graphic tees and sweatpants sit at the cheap end and get discounted often.
Best for: Baggy denim and a cheap tee in the same order.
Skechers
Skechers is a budget-tier footwear brand that also sells casual apparel, and it earns its place here as the shoe half of the outfit rather than the clothes half.
Nothing Aeropostale sells competes with it directly. Pair the two: a slip-on sneaker under an Aeropostale hoodie is a common enough combination that the brands turn up in the same wardrobes.
Best for: Sneakers you can wear all day without thinking about it.
Pull & Bear
Pull & Bear is another Inditex label at the budget end, selling relaxed jeans, hoodies and graphic tees to an 18 to 30 crowd across Europe and the US.
The house look is quieter than Bershka's and looser than Aeropostale's. Fewer big logos, more washed-out colour and slouchier shapes, which suits anyone who wants the casual silhouette without a brand name printed across it.
Best for: Understated street styling at mall prices.
Garage
Garage is the Montreal-founded teen brand under Groupe Dynamite, trading in Canada, the US and the UK, and it competes with Aeropostale and Hollister for the same shopper.
Crop tops, bodysuits, cargo pants and relaxed jeans make up the core, priced at the budget end. It skews further toward young women than Aeropostale does, and the fits sit closer to the body. Readers who like this end of the market usually get on with brands like Princess Polly too.
Best for: Going-out basics that still work on a Tuesday.
Target's Wild Fable
Wild Fable is Target's own young-adult label, sold only at Target, and it holds the cheapest clothes on this list. A Short Sleeve Crewneck T-Shirt starts at $4.00 USD, an Oversized Long Sleeve Roundneck T-Shirt is $20.00, and a Mini Scarf Dress $35.00.
The range runs past 1,400 items across tops, denim, dresses, swimwear and accessories. Styling is brighter and more of-the-moment than Aeropostale's, and at these prices a miss costs about what lunch does.
Best for: Trying a silhouette before spending real money on it.
Roxy
Roxy sells women's surf and beach clothing between roughly $48.00 and $68.00 USD. The Alice Mini Dress is $48.00, the Moonrise Romper $58.00, and the Swell Season Sweater $68.00.
It costs more than Aeropostale and covers ground Aeropostale doesn't, including swim and boardshorts. The overlap is the relaxed, sporty attitude both share, so a Roxy dress sits happily over an Aeropostale swimsuit.
Best for: Anyone whose summer wardrobe starts at the water.
Bobeau
Bobeau sells women's contemporary basics from $48.00 to $79.00 USD, with a Boyfriend Relaxed Tee at $48.00, a Peasant Top at $58.00 and a Fine Gauze Mixed Media Sweater at $79.00.
There are no graphic tees here. Cardigans, soft knits and easy dresses replace them, which makes Bobeau the natural next step for someone who still wants comfortable clothes but has stopped wanting a slogan on them.
Best for: Moving on from teen basics without moving into office wear.
Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters is the mid-range end of this list, mixing vintage-inspired, indie and streetwear clothing with homeware and records in the same shop.
You'll pay above Aeropostale for a graphic tee, and the graphics are the reason. Prints lean toward band merch and reissued nineties artwork rather than a house logo. For a different route through the same aesthetic, see our guide to Black-owned brands like Urban Outfitters.
Best for: A wardrobe with a point of view rather than a uniform.
Picking Your New Default Store
Start with the single item you buy most. If that's jeans, American Eagle and Buckle have the deepest fit ranges and Cotton On has the loosest cuts. If it's graphic tees, Wild Fable undercuts everything at $4.00 USD for a plain crewneck, and Urban Outfitters sits at the other end with the better prints.
For a whole wardrobe in one order, H&M and Old Navy cover the most ground. For something the group chat hasn't already bought, Bershka and Pull & Bear ship US orders from outside the American mall system entirely.
Aeropostale itself is still trading across more than 500 US stores, so none of this is a rescue mission. It's a way of making sure the next hoodie doesn't look like the last three. More lists like this one live on our articles page.
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Written by
Spencer Lanoue
