Lilly Pulitzer

Lilly in her first store

My daughter and I spent a lovely spring day together yesterday with pink cherry blossoms in bloom everywhere. Our day included shopping at Lilly Pulitzer and mojitos before dinner. Over dinner, we spoke about my recent posts on flamingos and my new flamingo print for my office makeover. We talked about vintage Lilly we had in our closets. I was wearing a zebra bracelet and Kate had on neon pink ballet flats. I returned home and watched Mad Men and learned of the passing of Lilly Pulitzer. It was a day that Lilly would have enjoyed.

I grew up wearing Lilly. I stayed up late last night creating a Pinterest board on Lilly Pulitzer, filled with her vintage and modern fashion, as well as her home collection. You can find it here. I was thinking too about the strong influence of Lilly Pulitzer on modern Chinoiserie that I coined the term "Chinoiserie Chic" to describe when I started this blog.

Palm Beach Chic (of which Lilly Pulitzer was and is the essence) and Chinoiserie Chic share so much in common. Elephants, dragons, zebras, monkeys, pink and green, bright saturated pastels of course, but at their essence both are pretty, feminine, preppy, whimsical, exotic, and happy.

At their core what the two share is the sheer joy of life. A famous quote of Lilly's -

"The Lilly girl is always full of surprises. She lives everyday like it's a celebration. Never has a dull moment. And makes every hour a happy hour."

And another -

"Being happy never goes out of style."

So let's celebrate life every day and make every hour a happy hour in her memory.

Andrea at The Glam Pad did a lovely tribute to Lilly Pulitzer here and I am over at The Glam Pad today continuing my virtual makeover of the Chinese Village House in Coral Gables with a makeover of the master bedroom here.

A sketch of Lilly in her first store

Lilly with her daughters

Modern Lilly