Casey Clifford
Reporter
On Apr. 7 2013, Lilly Pulitzer, the princess of prints and queen of prep, died in her humble abode (mansion) in Palm Beach Florida at the ripe age of 81. Lilly’s legendary style brought the many devoted followers of the lifestyle that is prep, a joy that no other designer has yet to compare. Her superior taste for class and sass will forever be missed but always remembered by the countless iconic looks that she designed.
From the moment that Lilly was born she was destined for greatness. Coming from a family of New York socialites, young Lilly was raised with the dignity and poise that only a true heiress and icon could have. She attended Chapin, one of the most respected primary schools for girls that Manhattan has to offer. I know this firsthand because I too attended Chapin (shout out to the kindergarten class of 2003). She then went on to Miss Porters boarding school for girls. There, she became close friends with none other than Jackie O. I can only imagine the greatness that was there friendship. In 1949 Lilly graduated from Miss Porters and started her college career at Finch college in her hometown New York. After a semester she found it wasn’t up to her standards, so she moved to West Virginia to work as a midwife assistant and then back to the Bronx where she worked at a Veterans hospital (what a sweetheart).
Shortly after she married Peter Pulitzer, they moved to Palm Beach where Peter owned many Florida citrus groves. Lilly was bored with her stay at home wife routine so she decided to start a small juice stand. Squeezing the juices for her stand kept making a mess of her clothes so Lilly decided to make a dress for herself that wouldn’t show the stains. Thanks to some spilled orange juice the world got its first taste of Lilly’s fabulous colorful patterns. Lilly’s dress began to attract so much attention in her neighborhood (for good reason) that she began to sell them from her Juice stand. Jackie O had heard about her highschool friend’s new dresses and wanted to get in on the small new trend. A photo of Jackie in one of Lilly’s first dresses ended up on the cover of Time Magazine, and so the Lilly empire was born. I recently got to speak with junior Page Jones about the impact Lilly had on her life.
“From the age of 1 up until my Junior Prom, Lilly Pulitzer has had a presence in my life. Not only is my closet a home to her dresses, shorts and skirts, but my bedroom over the past 16 years has started to develop a look that resembles a Lilly Pulitzer shrine. When I was about 12 years old my mom decided to have a blanket made of my baby clothes. There must have been some trip up in the ordering process because instead of ordering a blanket she ordered a full size comforter for my bed… And since most of my baby and toddler wardrobe consisted of Lilly frocks, my whole comforter is Lilly store patched together on a pink background. The Lilly madness does not stop there though. On a shelf in my room lies a Lilly barbie I got for Christmas one year. She came with a little juice stand and the box was a mock Lilly mansion. Looking back Lil has always come through for me. Confirmation, graduations, (not my own) birthday parties, my sweet sixteen and prom. I was always wearing a Lilly. Going to her store “Splash Of Pink” in Westport has even become a bonding experience for my mom and I. We roam around looking at the racks of new patterns and it actually makes you feel happy seeing the bright colors of her dresses. The one thing though that keeps me a slave to the Lilly Pulitzer brand though is that it will always look good and you are bound to catch someones eye.“
Although the world is a worse place without her, Lilly’s style will live forever and inspire the many more preppy palm beach cuties to come. Her unique ideas and risk taking took the world by surprise and created a revolution of fantastic dresses and accessories. Thanks to Lilly, we will always have that perfect summer dress to wear whenever necessary. Long Live Lilly.
