lilly

By: Chrysa Smith

Have you seen the commercial? An explosion of color, the scene at a tropical mansion looks like something from Fantasia. Bikini-clad women sit poolside with tropical birds and drinks all in bright shades of hot pink and blue, yellow and lime green. A Caribbean vacation? Florida resort? Nope. Just a trip to your local Target. So grab your beach hat because Lilly Pulitzer has arrived. That’s right. Lily–the uptown beach boutique designer has joined the ranks of other A-listers bringing their upscale fashions down-to-earth. Like Vera Wang at Kohl’s, Michael Kors at BonTon, designers are learning that fashionistas come with all size wallets, whether they be from Dolce and Gabanna or just Buxton. As with many new ‘products’ Pulitzer’s colorful fashion dynasty was born out of trying to solve a problem. The heiress to the Standard Oil fortune, Lilly spent her time in good company. She married the owner of multiple orange groves. And, spending time on the Miami beaches, she was made aware of the ‘plight’ of juice vendors. It seems the orange juice would brightly stain simple clothing, so she went to work and designed bold,bright, floral prints that would camouflage the stains. Joila! An empire was born. Personally, I will be headed to Target this week. I’m curious. While some of her line is too ‘Town and Country’ club for me, others are just fun. It seems to me much of her lines have included shifts, which I guess, makes sense coming out of Florida. Simple enough, but pretty pricey. Just the other side of $150, I’d say. Doubt that flies in Target, so I assume the line is a scaled down version of her trademark prints. Either way, some color is in order this year. After a winter of black and gray, some hot pinks, lime greens, bright yellows and booming blues are just what the doctor ordered.