Audrey McLoghlin
CEO and Founder of Cult-Favorite Brand, Frank & Eileen
-
Pillow Talk
Audrey McLoghlin is the founder of cult-favorite luxury brand Frank & Eileen, a company that counts Oprah, Angelina Jolie, and Meghan Markle as fans. Known for its high-quality, stylish button-ups, Frank & Eileen can be found at major retailers like Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Revolve, and more. Before starting her extremely popular label, Audrey was an engineer who spent over a decade perfecting the art of the button-up, a piece of clothing that she says “makes me feel feminine and strong at the same time.” As if one successful company wasn’t enough, this entrepreneur recently launched a second brand, Grayson, which is the result of two years of research, development, and various design iterations to create the perfect work shirt for the modern woman. It’s called The Hero, and was made using 30 different real women as fit models, instead of the industry standard of one. Talk about a hero product. We asked this impressive founder to tell us what a night in her life looks like. She shares her typical routine below.
6:00 P.M. I tend to work late, because my mornings at home with Grayson (my daughter, not the company!) are magical and sacred so I don’t get into the office until about 9:30 or 10am. That means the last few hours of the day are usually a sprint to get in as many meetings and approvals as possible. Right now, it’s anything from reviewing new website features with my Head of Brand to approving textile cads with my Head Designer so we can launch our Spring 2020 collections on time.
6:40 P.M. When my daughter was born, I really struggled to figure out how to be a mom and keep up the pace that’s required to be an entrepreneur. Honestly, there were A LOT of tears. One thing I did that’s made it easier was building a beautiful two-story playhouse in our headquarters for my employees’ children. It has lots of toys, an atelier table, a nap room… it’s pretty bananas! On days when Grayson comes to work with me after preschool, she’ll play with any other kids that happen to be there that day, and sometimes have dinner in “her house” while I’m finishing up the day. She loves it and takes it very seriously; she tells people with pride, “I have a job now.” And I love that she gets to see and be a part of my work life.
7:30-8:00 P.M. When we get home, both of us usually change into our jammies right away. I get matching Roller Rabbit heart PJs for both of us, which Grayson thinks is just the GREATEST. If we’ve already eaten dinner at the office, we’ll cuddle up together and maybe even share a cupcake because no one is watching(!).
8:30 P.M. After Grayson goes to sleep, I spend some time prepping for the next day (while fantasies about my bedtime dance in my head). When I was younger, I could regularly get by on five hours of sleep, but not anymore—I can’t function unless I get at least seven or eight.
9:00 P.M. On most days, I have a very minimal makeup routine (I put on tinted moisturizer with SPF and swipe rose gold-colored Ilia illuminator across my forehead and under my cheeks). I also swear by eyelash extensions as the best time-saving beauty hack. So it takes me about ten seconds to wash my face and get ready for bed.
9:30 P.M. To wind down, I’ll watch a little bit of HGTV (my guilty pleasure) or read a few chapters of whatever biography is on my nightstand. I’m obsessed. Some of my favorites: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight and both of Sheryl Sandberg’s books.
10:00 P.M. I switch on the sound of VERY loud rain and play it from speakers above my bed. I used to wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking about emails I need to send, etc., but this lets my brain completely shut off. I also keep the house at 69 degrees at night, so my sheets (these in poplin from Rachel Ashwell) are cool and crisp when I finally slip into bed. It’s heaven!