Designer Spotlight: Lilly Pulitzer

Name: Lilly Pulitzer
Nationality: American, currently lives in West Palm Beach
Known for: preppy bright tropical prints
Interesting fact: Lilly Pulitzer “started with a juice stand in Palm Beach. Lilly, a young, sassy New York socialite had eloped with Peter Pulitzer, grandson of the Joseph Pulitzer and settled in Palm Beach to live the life of the rich and famous. Peter owned several Florida citrus groves, but Lilly needed a project of her own. So in the late 1950's, with Peter's produce, she opened a juice stand on Via Mizner, just off Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.
Lilly Pulitzer's business was a hit, but squeezing oranges, lemons, limes, and pink grapefruit made a mess of her clothes. Realizing that she needed a juice stand uniform, Lilly asked her dressmaker to design a dress that would camouflage the stains. The result? A comfortable sleeveless shift made of bright, colorful printed cotton - pink, green, yellow and orange. The dress even had custom dressmaker details like lining and lace seam bindings. It was perfect for the job and became Lilly's first Classic Shift.
Although her customers liked Lilly's juice, they loved her dress. When people began to ask if they could buy the dress, Lilly had a few more made up to sell in the stand. Soon Lilly was selling more dresses than juice, so she decided to stop squeezing and to focus on designing and selling her "Lillys." Before long, Jackie Kennedy, an old school chum, began wearing Lillys and, as First Lady, was featured in Life Magazine wearing a Classic Shift. Then, of course, everyone wanted one and Lilly Pulitzer® became a fashion sensation. " Taken from the abous Lilly section of www.lillypulitzer.com. Please visit the website for more info.