Fashion designer and socialite Lilly Pulitzer passed away on Sunday at age 81, leaving behind a legacy of brightly colored printed shift dresses and an optimistic, happy lifestyle. Her signature look, initially concocted to hide stains on her clothes while manning a juice station circa 1959, has since become the thing of tradition for the preppie set nationwide. From Palm Beach courtyards to Greenwich Avenue, it’s hard to stroll through a WASP-y summertime hub without happening on one of her creations. Here within, some of Pulitzer’s most iconic looks.
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Still on the grind at age 73, Pulitzer poses for an interview in her brand’s Manhattan offices to celebrate the release of book Essentially Lilly: A Guide to Colorful Entertaining, which she co-wrote with Jay Mulvaney. The print of her silk scarf (paired with a pink sweater), aptly embodies the cheerful spirit of the Pulitzer brand.
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For Palm Beach-goers of the 1960s, Pulitzer’s creations became as de rigueur as a pair of white linen slacks or buttery leather loafers. In this 1968 photo, Claire and Garrick Stephenson wear Pulitzer designs poolside alongside Donald Leas, against a backdrop of willowy palm trees.
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Pulitzer’s designs became deeply ingrained in Palm Beach’s social set, utilized as colorful daywear to traipse through the town’s streets. Here a group of well-to-do women (including one Vanderbilt), pose for a group shot in 1964.
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Pulitzer’s well-to-do American heritage gave her access to some of the country’s most elite families, whom she’d often dress in her printed designs. Here Rose and Kathleen Kennedy embrace in chrysanthemum-printed shift dresses by Pulitzer. Her designs were also a favorite of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
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The Lilly Pulitzer brand is synonymous with a carefree WASP-y lifestyle. In the 1961 Slim Aarons photo at left, Pulitzer embodies the spirit of her brand, casually smoking a cigarette at a Palm Beach pool party alongside fellow preps and endless spirits.
Pulitzer poses with one of her “Lilly” shift dresses in Palm Beach about five years after founding her label. Her frocks quickly infiltrated the homes of Palm Beach’s wealthiest residents, soon becoming summertime staples for the prim and proper.
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Soon after founding her line, Pulitzer expanded her design reach to include menswear. Using the same bright prints as her womenswear line, Pulitzer’s men’s designs turned a new, flamboyant leaf in the lives of WASP-y men—making those lobster-embroidered Brooks Brothers pants look tame by comparison.
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Pulitzer leaves behind a legacy of bright, exuberant prints and a brand synonymous with a carefree, preppy joie de vivre. Her ties are pictured at left inside the Boston store In the Pink.
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