FRANK & EILEEN
Polished casual is the center around which the Frank & Eileen universe spins. Frank & Eileen proudly makes the best soft knits and woven shirts and dresses in the world, and they do this sustainably.
The Frank & Eileen Story
It was in 2009 that former engineer Audrey McLoghlin set out to reinvent the women’s button-up as the first foray into the Frank & Eileen brand. The button-up shirt was previously focused solely on men, but Frank & Eileen wanted to do it differently. Audrey’s Irish grandparents – Frank & Eileen – are her main inspiration. The Frank & Eileen brand has grown slowly and intentionally from its roots, obsessed with the Italian woven goods, the best fabric in the world.
Today, Frank & Eileen is an internationally recognized fashion brand, and Frank & Eileen is a certified woman-owned, women-led business. The Frank & Eileen company has retained 100% ownership while still maintaining the same ethical and sustainable manufacturers for over a decade. The mission of Frank & Eileen is to promote and model female entrepreneurship as a force for good, and Frank & Eileen achieves this from their family-friendly headquarters in California.
Frank & Eileen Ethics
The company of Frank & Eileen believes in using slow fashion and promoting sustainability in their sourcing and production processes. For slow fashion, Frank & Eileen starts with the world’s best raw materials nature offers. They are naturally ethical, beautiful, and sustainable, and Frank & Eileen will use nothing less.
Frank & Eileen has retained 100% ownership and resisted the temptation of venture capital funding. In this way, Frank & Eileen has the advantage of answering only to the true stakeholders of Frank & Eileen – their employees, customers, local community, and the environment.
Certifications matter to Frank & Eileen, and they are incredibly proud to be a certified B Corp. The impact score for Frank & Eileen among globally recognized US apparel companies falls second only to Patagonia in the fashion industry. Frank & Eileen received the highest impact score of any US fashion brand owned by women.
By women, for women, and dedicated to supporting women, Frank & Eileen has proudly pledged $10 million over the next ten years to nurture tomorrow’s female leaders. The Frank & Eileen mantra for this philanthropic work is Educate Our Girls, Change Our World.
Frank & Eileen Sustainability in Practice
The Frank & Eileen ethos falls on the side of integrity in building both businesses and wardrobes. From the beginning, Frank & Eileen will only partner with ethical and sustainable manufacturers, and Frank & Eileen ensures their pieces are crafted with the finest raw materials nature offers.
In their quest to be sustainable since the beginning, Frank & Eileen has fanatically sought out the world’s best textile and production partners. Frank & Eileen partners with Albini in Italy, who leads the way in 100% responsible practices within the textile industry. It is with great pride that Frank & Eileen can trace the origin of every fabric they produce in Italy, down to its field of origin, and ensure it meets the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 global certification for absence of harmful chemicals in production.
For their knitwear collection, Frank & Eileen looked into their own backyard in sunny California, where some of the world’s best knitted garments are produced. Frank & Eileen chose artisans based in Los Angeles to partner with. Every piece of Frank & Eileen knitwear is knit, sewn, washed, and dyed locally in L.A. all while demanding B Corp-approved fair labor practices from their production partners. This creates jobs locally that Frank & Eileen helps support. With expansion into new design categories, Frank & Eileen continues their dedication to using female entrepreneurship as a force for good.
Frank & Eileen at Work
Female leadership is a rarity in the fashion world, a phenomenon Audrey refers to as the “glass runway” rather than the “glass ceiling”. This is why she has been so adamant that Frank & Eileen create a work environment where women, and especially mothers, don’t feel like they have to choose between their home commitments and career advancement.
The executive team at Frank & Eileen is 100% female, and Frank & Eileen is a certified woman-owned company. The facility for the Frank & Eileen company has a life-sized, fully-stocked, two-story dollhouse in their headquarters for new mothers to pump, breastfeed, or just spend time with their wee ones. In this way, Frank & Eileen helps young parents with better work-life balance.
Frank & Eileen at Prefontaine
Prefontaine has a wide assortment of Frank & Eileen pieces for you to choose from. Whether you’re in the mood for a classic chambray blue button-down or something a bit bolder, or a soft French terry sweatshirt or sweatpants, or even chinos or a jacket, Prefontaine’s selection of Frank & Eileen has something to suit every body and a place in every wardrobe.