“You can spot a Lilly from across the room.
You wink at someone in a Lilly because you know they will laugh at the same jokes.
It’s a bonding element,”
Another quote from her daughter that always rung true to me and how I try to live my life…
The Pulitzer legacy is “Family, family, family,” Pulitzer McCluskey says. “Mom’s home was always filled with love, laughter, music, food and family. She shared her heart and home with everyone. She taught all of us the meaning and power of love, graciousness and an open heart. Just thinking about her puts me in a better place.”
A young Lilly in love…with her first husband, Peter Pulitzer
“She had the biggest heart in the world, and anyone who had the opportunity to meet her could attest to it. There was an open-door policy at her house and everyone was treated like family.”
How it all began…
November 10, 1931 – April 7, 2013
She graduated in 1949, from Miss Potters school, a private prep school in Farmington, Conn, later enrolled at Finch college, a finishing school in NYC.
She married Herbert Pulitzer, Jr. (called Peter). Peter and Lilly eloped and moved to Palm Beach and hosted countless parties. Speaking of Palm Beach, the young couple decided that they would live in the beautiful resort town year round instead of just visiting. Lilly the eternal original wanted more. Being a wife and mother to three beautiful children was wonderful, but Lilly had an idea…
At age 28, Lilly opened a juice stand in Palm Beach. While working at the stand, she found that squeezing juice made a mess of her clothes. To camouflage the juice stains, she designed a sleeveless shift dress made of bright, colorful printed cotton. She discovered that customers loved her dress, so she produced more to sell at her juice stand. Eventually, she was selling more dresses than juice, and decided to focus on designing and selling what had become known as her “Lillys”.
The shift dress or “The Lilly,” as it came to be known, shot to international fame when Lilly’s old schoolmate Jacqueline Kennedy, at the time the First Lady, was photographed wearing a “Lilly” on the cover of LIFE magazine in 1962.
Lilly relaxing on the water – don’t you just love this dress?! And the comfy seating?!
Fun Fact –
In 1950, Lilly (only 21 at the time) eloped with Peter Pulitzer (whose grandfather was responsible for establishing the Pulitzer Prize). They settled in Palm Beach, Florida.
Lilly chillin’ in style at a pool party, Palm Beach, Florida, April 1961. Photograph by Slim Aarons. Gorgeous in black & white and color!
“Style isn’t just about what you wear, it’s how you live,” said Pulitzer in 2004. “We focus on the best, fun and happy things, and people want that. Being happy never goes out of style.”
My All Time FAVORITE Photo of Lilly…#lillyontherun
On the go with handfuls of fabrics…
Lilly’s First Store…
No matter how it started, the attitude and enthusiasm has never changed – it’s fun!
Sometimes Lilly would throw champagne on the floor and everyone would do the twist! It’s not that they meant to start a shift dress revolution; it’s that their lives were too fun not to emulate. Everyone wore the Lilly shifts because it was one step closer to Lilly – an embodiment of the resort life and a magnet of pure joy, fun and sun.
