{"id":1943660,"date":"2026-05-19T18:31:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1943660"},"modified":"2026-05-19T18:31:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:31:40","slug":"frank-eileen-was-built-by-women-for-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1943660","title":{"rendered":"Frank & Eileen Was Built By Women, For Women"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Designers)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Frank & Eileen Was Built By Women, For Women<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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Founder Audrey McLoghlin discusses the brand\u2019s evolution. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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by Kelsey Stewart<\/a><\/address>\n
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@frankandeileen<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Frank<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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We may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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If there\u2019s one word to describe Audrey McLoghlin, it\u2019s charismatic. I picked up on that immediately during a recent Zoom call with the Frank & Eileen<\/a> founder, who dialed in from a trailer while taking a quick break from the brand\u2019s Malibu shoot. McLoghlin has the kind of energy that instantly draws people in \u2014 despite only having about 30 minutes to chat, I easily could\u2019ve talked to her for hours. That warmth and magnetism are reflected in the company she\u2019s built, with women at the center.<\/p>\n

In fact, Frank & Eileen was born out of a need for better-quality button-ups<\/a> for women. While running her former multi-brand retail store, Oona, in Los Angeles during the early 2000s, McLoghlin stumbled upon an Italian fabric book at a factory one day. After calling the manufacturer the following morning and learning the materials were used exclusively for menswear, she decided to take matters into her own hands and reinvent the button-up shirt for women.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took me six months to make the pattern, and we were 100% wholesale when we launched,\u201d McLoghlin explains. But what came next threw the founder for a loop. \u201cI was launching in spring 2009, and then the entire world collapsed in September 2008,\u201d she says, referring to the U.S. financial crisis. \u201cEveryone stopped shopping, and I funded everything myself,\u201d McLoghlin reflects, adding that she ultimately went through personal bankruptcy. \u201cAt the same time, I was trying to launch and build Frank & Eileen, so I always say it was born out of the ashes of the Great Recession.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The silver lining? The experience prepared her team for future catastrophic events, including the pandemic. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be one,\u201d McLoghlin says. \u201cIs it going to be in three years, five years, seven years, 11 years? I don\u2019t know, but it\u2019s coming.\u201d As such, the brand successfully navigated the challenges of COVID-19, emerging stronger than ever.<\/p>\n

But back to the button-ups that started it all. \u201cThey have this incredible heritage and taste level of classic menswear,\u201d McLoghlin says of what sets the shirts apart from others on the market. The secret sauce, however, lies in the silhouette. \u201cThe button-ups are designed with an hourglass shape, so they\u2019re curved at the sides and in the back,\u201d she explains. \u201cThey also have a beautiful openness at the top, showing off your jewelry and collarbones.\u201d The washes play an equally important role in the shirts\u2019 appeal. \u201cWe launched with this crinkle material, which gives the tops an intentionally wrinkled look,\u201d McLoghlin explains. Meanwhile, the brand\u2019s Italian denim tops are hand-distressed in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

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Despite running a successful brand for nearly two decades, McLoghlin didn\u2019t grow up around fashion \u2014 she even admits Gap was considered a designer brand in her household. As for her upbringing, the Irish designer laughs, \u201cMy mom is wild \u2014 she left all her family behind in the \u201870s for this idea of the American dream.\u201d Born in Toronto, McLoghlin moved between New Jersey, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Boston before eventually settling in Los Angeles at age 24.<\/p>\n

From an early age, her mother instilled in her an open-minded outlook, reminding McLoghlin that she could do anything she set her mind to. Gifted in math, she pursued a degree in engineering and worked at an MIT startup in Boston before pivoting to fashion business. \u201cI was such a nerd,\u201d she says, poking fun at herself. \u201cBut I also loved analyzing women\u2019s body types and coloring, and figuring out what would complement their figure best. I really liked that challenge.\u201d That fascination ultimately sparked McLoghlin\u2019s interest in the apparel industry, prompting her move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in fashion. <\/p>\n

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Though Italian poplin and linen button-ups were at the heart of Frank & Eileen\u2019s business for the first five years, the company eventually expanded, introducing its Famous Denim<\/a> line. \u201cFirst we developed the indigo wash, and later our garment-dyed denim, which took a really long time to perfect,\u201d McLoghlin recalls, adding that the process was somewhat out of the box for the brand\u2019s Italian partners, who weren\u2019t accustomed to washing and dyeing garments.<\/p>\n

Next came the California Heritage<\/a> assortment, launched by McLoghlin in 2016. \u201cThe collection is all our terry and jersey knits, and it\u2019s become a huge part of the business,\u201d she continues. In fact, she says the line has become the bread and butter of many Frank & Eileen customers\u2019 closets.<\/p>\n

Sustainability is another key pillar of Frank & Eileen. The label, as it happens, holds the highest B impact score<\/a> of any woman-owned fashion brand in the United States, earning an overall score of 125.5 \u2014 an impressive feat. What\u2019s more, 80% of its garments are made in Los Angeles, while all of <\/strong>its Italian fabric suppliers and Portuguese yarn suppliers hold social and environmental certifications. <\/p>\n

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McLoghlin has been making waves in the industry, most recently launching a collection<\/a> with Saturday Night Live<\/em> star Chloe Fineman and her mom, artist Ellen Gunn. Centered on the mother-daughter duo\u2019s shared love of blue-and-white stripes, the capsule introduces two new patterns featured on Frank & Eileen\u2019s hallmark silhouettes: the relaxed Eileen and the oversized Shirley \u2014 both available for a limited time.<\/p>\n

At the helm of her brand, McLoghlin is dedicated to mentoring future female businesswomen. Enter the Frank & Eileen foundation<\/a>, which officially launched in March. \u201cI decided I wanted to pledge $10 million over 10 years to create more women entrepreneurs,\u201d she shares, adding that the company doubled the pledge to $20 million in 2025. The nonprofit provides entrepreneurship education for those ages 12 and up, partnering with top U.S. universities like MIT, Stanford, and Babson.<\/p>\n

In addition to building the aforementioned foundation, McLoghlin opened Frank & Eileen\u2019s first brick-and-mortar store on the Upper East Side last November, which now serves as the brand\u2019s flagship. \u201cWe found this incredible space on the corner of 65th and Madison,\u201d says McLoghlin. \u201cWe want all our spaces to feel like home,\u201d she continues, likening the location to a quaint New York City townhouse.<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t make it to the NYC location any time soon? Shop some of Frank & Eileen\u2019s bestsellers below.<\/p>\n

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\"Eileen<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Frank & Eileen<\/div>\n
Eileen Relaxed Button-Up Shirt<\/div>\n
$258<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n