Anyone who loves the vintage-meets-tomboy wares at Madewell will be putting a membership to the brand’s Stylephile club at the top of their Christmas lists this year.

As with many fashionable clubs (hello Net-A-Porter’s year of shoes subscription for $10,000) a membership to Madewell’s Stylephile isn’t cheap ($1,235 for the year). Though for major fans of the line, it probably works out to be the same as shopping in the store throughout the year.

Stylephile is like a fruit of the month club (but with clothes and accessories). Madewell will deliver a box of their designer’s favorite pieces of the season to the recipient’s door four times a year, with items that have yet to hit stores or be released online. For some styling help, members will get a consultation from a Madewell designer to get ideas on different ways to wear their year’s worth of clothing. Wonder if the group of designers who provide consultations includes Alexa Chung? One can dream.

For more information or to order a membership, call Madewell at (877) 499-7947 or e-mail stylephile@madewell.com.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

 

Anyone stocking up for back-to-school (or who just loves a uniform of jeans and sneakers), may want to head over to the Madewell store at Century City mall or Americana at Brand in Glendale for their “Denim after Dark” event.

Thursday, Aug. 5, from 7 to 9 p.m., all denim in the store will be on sale for 20% off, with hemming on the house.

Also: bring a pair of gently worn sneakers and receive 20% off on some Bensimon sneakers. Donated shoes will be given to the soles4souls charity.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Anyone who used to stop in at Shareen Mitchell’s always-crowded booth at the Melrose Trading Post flea market or frequents her nondescript warehouse on the outskirts of downtown L.A. knows about her well-edited stash of affordable vintage dresses, boots and blouses.

In addition to her warehouse location (and her studio on 17th Street in New York, which you will only know is open for business when a red dress hangs in the window) Shareen Vintage wares will also be stocked in the Madewell store in Century City and SoHo starting Thursday, offering girls some well-loved pieces to style in with their matchstick jeans and lace-up oxfords.

Madewell’s marketing director Gigi Guerra and Kin Ying Lee, the brand’s head designer, have been longtime fans of Shareen Vintage, combing the warehouse for items when in town. “Shareen has such an amazing eye and a knack for pulling in pieces that are really ahead of the curve. She intuitively understands what’s cool, plus her prices are truly affordable,” says Lee, who admits to exiting Mitchell’s warehouse with bagfuls of dresses to take back to home to New York.

Madewell chose pieces from Mitchell’s collection that would specifically pair well with jeans, chambray shirts and jean jackets. “The collection has a very laid-back, high-summer vibe,” says Lee. “Think floaty dresses and floral skirts with a boy-meets-girl feel.”

Mitchell (who is currently taping a docu-series for Planet Green about her work and constant journey seeking out and buying vintage clothing, which will debut in late fall) also reworked Indian print vintage fabric into what she calls the “Coachella” top – a lightweight, batwing blouse that she can’t keep in stock in her own store and will have hanging in Century City and SoHo Madewell locations.

Madewell is having a shopping event to kick of the Shareen Vintage collaboration Thursday. The event is open to the public, but judging by how crowded Mitchell’s booth at the Melrose flea market used to get, you may want to RSVP.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photos, from top: Madewell items mixed with pieces from Shareen Vintage pieces. credit: Madewell; invitation to Madewell Century City event.

It might be gloomy outside now, but summer is right around the corner.

On Thursday, May 20, let Madewell style your summer look -- just in time for that Memorial Day barbecue.

Madewell, J.Crew's little sister, is having its first-ever seasonal styling event with former Teen Vogue editor Jessica De Ruiter at Westfield Century City. De Ruiter will help shoppers create summer looks like a silk brushstroke tank ($88) with slouchy shorts ($72).

That evening, 15% will be taken off all purchases at the register.

Bring the gals to pose for a custom photo flip book, all while enjoying complimentary cocktails and a DJ.

Guests are encouraged to RSVP to LAevents@madewell.com.

Westfield Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. 7 to 9 p.m.

-- Max Padilla

Photo: Madewell's floral dress ($148), Panama hat ($58) and messenger bag ($128). Credit: Madewell

Alexa Chung shows that when one door closes another opens (hello, Conan O' Brien). MTV’s “It’s On With Alexa Chung” went off the air in December (Chung is reportedly still under contract with MTV), but she came back on the fashion radar with Mulberry's Alexa satchel-style handbag out this month (available online for $950 to $1,595). And now, the British-born TV presenter is partnering with J.Crew's younger sister Madewell for an exclusive Alexa Chung for Madewell collection debuting this fall. Shockingly, erstwhile style icon Chung had never collaborated for any other label.

At last, Madewell is ready to step out of J. Crew's shadow. The denim-based fashion purveyor, a family-owned work wear label founded in Massachusetts in 1937 and resurrected by the J. Crew Group in 2006, is gearing up for an e-commerce launch in the spring. Madewell has always been cast as J. Crew's edgier little sister, so it's only fitting that J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons would give the brand a boost by including a couple Madewell pieces (the sparkle cardigan and slim slouch jeans) in her October Jenna's Picks feature on the J. Crew website.

But soon Madewell will have its own stylish face, to be announced in the coming weeks. Who could she be? There were plenty of contenders at the Bar Marmont last night, where Madewell and Lucky magazine celebrated the last stop of their national, in-store denim tour with lemon drop cocktails, mini lobster rolls and starlets galore, including Rachel Bilson, Lauren Conrad, Joy Bryant, Kristen Bell and Mandy Moore. Bilson's mom, Janice (a self-proclaimed spiritualist), read tarot cards, and guests posed for photos that were made into flip books.

Plenty of fashion industry types were there, too--L.A.'s hot new shoe designer Jerome Rousseau--just back from showing his line in Paris, Fug Girl Jessica Morgan, hair colorist Byron Williams, L.A. boutique owner Hillary Rush, and her old boss from when she was advertising director at the Gap, J. Crew Chairman and CEO Mickey Drexler.

It's all in the family for Lucky and Madewell. Former Lucky magazine editor Gigi Guerra is the brand marketing director at Madewell now, and her quirky style seems to be the perfect match. At the party, Guerra wore a Madewell cropped knit biker jacket pinned with a Masonic pendant she picked up at a flea market. She's helped create some interesting features on the site leading up to the e-commerce debut, including a forum for real world twenty-somethings to share how they wear the clothes, and a monthly newsletter; the October issue lists music blogger Largehearted Boy's favorite female artists.

Guerra says that jeans are the No. 1 seller in Madewell stores (specifically the "ex-boyfriend" style--love that name--and the legging jeans), followed by boots and the tasseled and fringed scarves that have been one of the brand's cool chick mainstays from Day 1. 

Guests left the party with a scarf, as well as a canvas Madewell tote and a bottle of OPI "Madewell to Order" nail polish, a special dark purple mixed just for the occasion.

-- Booth Moore

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Top photo: Kristen Bell, left, and Rachel Bilson, right, at the Lucky magazine and Madewell event Tuesday night at the Bar Marmont in Hollywood. Bell is wearing a silk tank dress and tassel scarf by Madewell. Bilson is wearing a dotted tank top by Madewell. Photo credit: WireImage

Bottom photo: Joy Bryant at the Lucky magazine and Madewell event Tuesday night at the Bar Marmont in Hollywood. Bryant is wearing legging jeans and boots by Madewell. Photo credit: WireImage