Lilly Pulitzer is sportswear for my favorite activity: Day Drinking. In certain circles, the latter is a decent party trick. Plus, it was the only way New Yorkers could shop the infamous Lilly sale in-store. The brand as it appears now is vastly different than the Palm Beach empire Lillian McKim Pulitzer started after coming out of a mental rehab facility. To more effectively combat ennui the new mother started a juice stand outside the family orange groves she eloped with Peter Pulitzer when she was 21 , and the iconic shift was born out of sartorial necessity.
Lilly needed a dress that could keep her cool in the Florida heat, was made of thick enough cotton to go commando she hated underwear , and was screen-printed with wild colors to hide the inevitable juice stains. The dress became more popular than the juice, and the universally flattering sheaths became de rigueur for the Palm Beach elite, charming Jackie Kennedy and other tastemakers of the era. Lilly kept designing until , sold the company in the 90s to Sugartown Worldwide Inc.
Although the brand has gone through many iterations through the decades, Lilly Pulitzer at heart remains an easy, breezy state-of-mind. I'm inclined to dress like a slutty soccer mom as is the custom of my people a New England transplant on the Upper West Side. Or the thicker cotton pieces I can still dig up on eBay and thrift stores dotting the Upper East Side. Photo: Slim Aarons. Newer Older.
