This past weekend I was invited to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Lilly Pulitzer!
When someone walks by in a Lilly Pulitzer design, you just know it. Her iconic, brightly colored designs cannot be missed. I knew the basics about the brand, but after receiving the invite I wanted to dig deeper to get the whole story.
Born right here in Palm Beach, the Lilly Pulitzer brand has such a sweet backstory.
WHO WAS LILLY PULITZER?
Born in my home state of New York in 1931, Lillian “Lilly” McKim was one of three daughters. Her mom, also named Lillian, was the heiress to the Standard Oil fortune.
In the 1950’s Lilly eloped to Palm Beach with her hubby, Peter (Herbert) Pulitzer. Peter was the grandson of Joseph Pulitzer, the founder and publisher of the Pulitzer Prize! They quickly settled in Palm Beach and together they owned several citrus groves. Lilly opened a fruit juice stand on Via Mizner, utilizing the produce from their groves.
THE BIRTH OF AN ICONIC BRAND
As you know, when you squeeze fruit there is a high tendency to unintentionally get squirted by the fruit. This happened quite often when Lilly was making her fruit juices, frustrating her as her clothes would always be stained.
She decided to create a shift dress made of bright colors in hopes that the colors and design would camouflage the fruit stains (“spill proof fabrics”).
Her customers loved the dresses so much, she started making and selling them at the juice stand. Once it became apparent that she was selling more dresses than juice, she focused all of her efforts on the dresses, also known as her “Lillys”.
Lilly’s designs were initially created in a factory in Miami, Florida. The shift dresses were worn by the elite, such as Jackie Kennedy Onassis (a former classmate), as well as members of the Rockefeller, Whitney, and Vanderbilt families.
60 YEARS LATER
It was an honor to celebrate the 60th anniversary – and what a celebration it was! The store itself was buzzing with super-excited patrons checking out the latest that Lilly has to offer.
I especially liked the Custom Shift Shop – you choose your fabric and embellishments and create your very own version of the Lilly!
Lilly wasn’t a big fan of creating clothing for colder weather, once quoted as saying, “It’s always summer somewhere.” I did see a few lightweight sweaters, bookmarking their styles in my mind as they would be perfect for the “winters” we have here in South Florida.
Outside the streetscape was outfitted in pink – from the block-long plush pink carpet to the palm trees illuminated in pink, you knew you were at a Lilly event.
Partygoers were smartly dressed in everything from vintage prints to current day trends. We enjoyed passed hors d’ouevres and custom cocktails while watching the very artists that design Lilly’s prints handpainted canvas.
We met some amazing people along the way!
WHAT MAKES “A LILLY”
Here are some fun facts I learned:
You can tell a Lilly is a true Lilly by locating the word “Lilly” in EVERY print.
Lilly colors are custom made to reflect Palm Beach island.
Each print is an original work of art hand-painted by a Lilly print designer. I was grateful to watch some of these talented artists in action at the event!
FAMOUS LILLY QUOTES
Here are some of my favorite quotes by Lilly!
Life is a party. dress like it
being happy never goes out of style
anything is possible with sunshine and a little pink.
style isn’t just about what you wear, it’s how you live.
despite the forecast, live like its spring.
MY LILLY PULITZER FAVORITES
Here are some of my favorite Lilly Pulitzer styles! Scroll through them and click on the ones you like for more information.
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