At Pileggi Boutique, a new era and owner

Andrea Chila knows a thing or two about fashion. She worked in New York in Diane von Furstenberg's and Max Azria's public relations departments before taking over the long-standing Philadelphia style haven Pileggi Boutique.

This week, the Roxborough native will host the 22-year-old shop's grand reopening. Chila, 30, is betting that her Big Apple tastes will jazz up the Washington Square neighborhood.

And as she puts her haute-casual stamp on the once-uber-dressy women's retail space founded by local fashion icon Joan Pileggi, Chila is inaugurating a new era.

"My goal is to keep the Pileggi customer here, but I also wanted to broaden what was available," Chila said late last week, sitting cross-legged in the bay window of her 1,300-square-foot store.

She pointed to racks filled with graphic-print dresses from a Pileggi staple, Norma Kamali Everlast, and one of her 60 or so new lines, L.A.-based Single. Mannequins dressed in stretchy, straight-leg jeans by Bulga will greet shoppers.

"I want to mix it up, though. . . . We want to draw

everyone

to shop here."

The new Pileggi Boutique is airier than its earlier incarnation. Clothing is placed on racks organized by color, similar to the contemporary-couture style of Scoop in New York or Colette in Paris.

Most of the clothing lines hail from Los Angeles and are celebrity cult favorites. For example, tiny T-shirts from Project Alabama are mixed with cotton jersey separates from DaftBird and soft dresses, graphic T's and tanks by Whitley Kros, the line produced by Marissa Ribisi, who is married to musician Beck Hansen. (He does graphic art for the collection.)

There are dresses by Kooba - the oversize-bag company now has a line of sportswear. And speaking of bags, colorful short-handled confections by Helen Kaminski, Andrea Brueckner and Treesje are purposely positioned to look random on top of the racks.

The mix of casual sportswear is interspersed with little black dresses. And the requisite luxury is there - Balenciaga eyeglass frames protected by glass cases.

Chila grew up in Wenonah, in Gloucester County, with dad Dominic, mom Theresa, a brother and a sister. She spent her summers in Sea Isle City.

At Drexel University, she majored in fashion merchandising, eventually moving to New York and jobs in von Furstenberg's public relations department, then Azria's.

Coincidentally, Chila worked for both brands as the designers were reintroducing established fashion labels: von Furstenberg as she was reviving her '70s wrap dresses, and Azria as he focused on resurrecting the skin-tight banded dresses of Parisian designer Herve Leger.

"I learned a lot about merchandising," Chila said. "I also learned how to 'dress' women and celebrities . . . . I learned how to blend merchandising and marketing so it all works together."

One afternoon in September, Dominic Chila, founder of DLC Management Co., a Center City parking-services company, was getting his hair cut by Giovanni Mele, who had been Joan Pileggi's partner in her salons.

He told his stylist that daughter Andrea was ready to come home and wanted to open her own boutique.

"Seconds later, Joan was on the phone," Dominic Chila said. "Then we had coffee and ironed out the details. The only caveat was that if my daughter came down and didn't like the space, the deal was off."

No one will talk about price, but Andrea Chila is leasing the space at 715 Walnut St. from Pileggi. She also bought the rights to the boutique's name, which she plans to keep as a nod to the store's history.

Now that Chila is at the helm, Joan Pileggi is officially out of the local fashion business.

Last year, she sold her interest in the Giovanni & Pileggi salon in Rittenhouse Square to Mele. She and Mele sold their Sewell, N.J., location to Martino Cartier, who renamed the space Martino, Giovanni & Pileggi. Two years ago, she sold Pileggi on the Square to Bernadette Izzo, former director of the Georgette Klinger spas in New York.

"I've done this for such a long time, and I had a nice run of it," Pileggi said by phone from Palm Springs, Calif. The 60-ish businesswoman said she was still trying to figure out her next move.

"But when Andrea came into the picture, I knew she was a capable young lady who could carry on my legacy."

In October, Chila quit her job at Max Azria and officially took over the store, keeping the staff intact. Pileggi often visits with her tiny black poodle, Vincenzo.

In February, Chila closed for $100,000 in renovations, including new hardwood floors, light fixtures, countertops and tiling.

She hosted a soft opening three weeks ago. On Thursday, a private party at the store will celebrate its reopening. On Friday and Saturday, shoppers will get a 10 percent discount on sales over $250.

"I love Philadelphia. I was ready to come home," Chila said. "I wanted to close a fashion gap . . . bring something new to the area."