• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, August 4, 2010

Gap is looking to return to its denim roots, launching an expanded 1969 collection with a new fall marketing campaign.

It unveiled the first of its 1969 line last August, in a pop-up shop in Los Angeles, using new fit, fabric, wash and technical details to create a mid-priced jean -- they start at $60 -- meant to compete with premium products that sell for twice that.

Based on the response from jeans-lovers, the San Francisco-based company has expanded the line to include babyGap, GapKids and GapMaternity, with names like Always Skinny, men's Authentic or a kid's Playdate Straight. To build interest, it says it plans to add new styles each month to the 1969 line, highlighting extreme leg shapes -- from the legging jean to wide leg styles.

The company hopes the throwback line will help it reverse persistent sales declines in its flagship stores. In the past year, it has opened dedicated 1969 stores in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, which include a denim table where customers can touch every fit, wash and size of jean, as well as browse through pieces from Gap's seasonal collections. So far, 200 of its stores contain a dedicated 1969 destination.

Ads, from Laird + Partners, are running in the such magazines as Allure, Details, Elle, GQ, Glamour, InStyle, Lucky, Vanity Fair and Vogue, as well as outdoors.

The company also says it has opened a Los Angeles Design Office, which will be home to all of its denim designers, and introduced Gap1969.com, offering new denim styles, fashion tips, and places for fans to upload their own photos and comments. And the company is hosting special screenings of a new documentary, "Blue Gold: The Story of American Jeans."

While denim sales have held up well during the recession, and sales at all of Gap's units have begun bouncing back from years of declines, it has yet to gain any significant traction. Comparable-store sales at its flagship unit fell 3% in June, 2% in May, and 6% in April.