Lilly Pulitzer

You may know us as a brand, or a store, or the creators of your favorite printed dress or swimsuit. But we are so much more. Lilly Pulitzer is a lifestyle. A frame of mind, where the door’s always open and the clothing’s always designed sunny side up. You may have heard about us, we’ve been around since 1959ish, straight out of the sunshine state of Florida. Palm Beach to be exact. If you're not familiar, sit back, we’ll spill the juice. And it actually all started with a glass of juice. But we’ll get to that later. Palm Beach has been the premier resort destination for the chic New York set for over one hundred years. So much so that the New York Times added the Palm Beach Season to their fashion calendar. Even still, resort wear consisted of three basic colors: Navy, Red and White. Fast Forward to the late 1950s, when our fearless leader Lilly Pulitzer eloped to Palm Beach with Peter Pulitzer (yes, the grandson of Joseph, founder of the Pulitzer Prize). Few were living in Florida full time back then, but Lilly saw paradise and she thought…why not? Lilly did things her own way. Everyone wanted to be around Lilly. Her door was always open and her home was always filled with the most interesting and fabulous group of people. Magnetic, cool, authentically herself… everyone was invited to Lilly’s parties and they were a sight to see. Shortly after moving and starting her family, Lilly’s entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and, since she started a juice stand in the vias just off the famous Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. It didn’t hurt that her husband’s family owned orange groves in Florida…that’s Florida farming! The job was messier than she expected and Lilly needed a way to avoid staining her gorgeous dresses. Most would have bought an apron. Not Our Lilly. She had her dresses made in “spill proof” fabrics. Brightly colored printed shifts became her uniform at the shop.But soon all of Lilly’s friends wanted her dresses more than they wanted her drinkable fruit concoctions. So she gave the people what they wanted. And soon Lillys were seen all over Palm Beach and beyond.