Lilly Pulitzer opened a juice stand in Palm Beach Florida out of her need to “do something”. The stand soon became a popular spot to grab some juice and hang out with friends. Wherever Lilly went, the party was right behind her. Her dilemma? At the end of the day her dresses would be covered in splashes of juice. Her solution? Have a dress maker do a few simple shifts in bright colors and patterns. Her dresses soon gained more interest than her juice and her juice business turned into a dress business.
{Lilly Pulitzer in her Shop circa 1950s}
Soon her friend Jackie Kennedy began buying and wearing the dresses too. After being photographed in them for Life magazine, the Lilly Pulitzer craze began. Lilly has been a fashion icon to so many women who have fallen in love with Lilly, and will remain a fashion icon as long as there is a girl to love a Lilly dress.
{Jackie O in Lilly P}
Lilly (really Lillian Pulitzer Rousseau) passed away on April 7, 2013 in her Palm Beach home surrounded by her family and loved ones. She was the inspiration of an entire fashion movement and had a creative spirit like no other. Her legacy will live on and we will all remember the amazing woman who began the line we have all been addicted too since the first time our mom or grandma brought us into a Lilly Pulitzer store.
{Lilly Preparing a model in September 2004 for NYC fashion show}
