Lilly Pulitzer revolutionized fashion with her bright colors and bold prints. What started out as a uniform for her Palm Beach juice stand became a well-known brand loved by many. The Lilly Pulitzer brand was officially established in 1959 during a time of a drastic transformation in the fashion industry (Our Story: Lilly Pulitzer). Lilly Pulitzer brought a new look into the dull transition between 1950's and 1960's fashion (1960s Fashion for Women & Girls). Lilly Pulitzer not only contributed to the changing fashions of the 1960's, but she also created a lifestyle brand name for herself. She recreated preppy. Lilly created a lifestyle brand that has positively affected women, men, and the fashion industry.

The Lilly Pulitzer brand has effected and continues to effect women, men, and the fashion industry today. The style of the clothing the Lilly Pulitzer brand produces is the main contribution of the label. The brand is known for its "preppy" look and clean-cut look. Another major contribution of the brand is the market it targets. The Lilly Pulitzer brand aims to create a clothing line that is appropriate for all ages, with a focus on an exclusive group of costumers that live in or travel to warm, tropical locations. In addition, the Lilly Pulitzer brand is most recognized for its' colorful and bold, prints and patterns. The designs on the fabric set are what set the Lilly Pulitzer brand apart from other designer's labels. Lastly, the Lilly Pulitzer brand brought a new look to the 1960's and 1970's by introducing the shift dress, and as a result created a uniform for Palm Beach (Norwich). The Lilly Pulitzer brand has made many contributions to the fashion industry since its founding in the 1960s, and continues to remain an important contribution to the fashion industry today.

Trends in fashion changed drastically during the 1960's. Paul Phipps, author of the article "1960s Fashion for Women & Girls," states that up until 1965 fashion remained stagnant to those popular in the 1950's (Phipps). Women continued to wear conservative cuts in combination with a dull color palette. A dull color palette consists mostly of pale and neutral colors, and bright, vibrant colors were typically not used. In addition, women's clothing was very feminine and body conscious. Traditionally, feminine clothing is a combination of dresses, skirts, and blouses that hug the woman's figure. This kind of clothing accentuates the female's body, showing off her curves. The Victoria and Albert Museum published an article titled "History of 1960s Fashion and Textiles," which discusses how because of these specific fashion characteristics, the typical attire for women consisted of dresses with accentuated busts and pulled in waistlines (History of 1960s Fashion and Textiles). This type of clothing was meant to show off the woman's body to make her appear feminine. However, as discussed by Paul Phipps, this conservative and traditional attire quickly vanished during the mid and late 1960's (Phipps).

The late 1960's were a time of wild colors, bold patterns, and shortened hemlines for women's fashion (1960s Fashion for Women & Girls). In addition to these drastic characteristics, fashion strayed away from feminine, body hugging attire and shifted to boxier cuts. These new cuts not only showed up in the form of baggy tunics, but also in the form of manly pantsuits (1960s Fashion for Women & Girls). These new revolutions shocked those accustomed to and comfortable with the old, more traditional fashions. However, it was not long before these trends caught on and the fashion keen of the 1960's adopted these fashions.

These radical changes in fashion came about through two particular parties; the youth of the 1960's and designers in London. The youth of the 1960's decided that they wanted their ideas to be voiced, and they did not agree with the previous notion of the time that fashion was only for the wealthy and elite of society (History of 1960s Fashion and Textiles). Therefore, they inspired a push away from the elites' conservative and traditional ways. The second party that effected the change in 1960's fashion was the designers in London. These designers were inspired by the pop culture occurring around them. One of the major influences on British designer's clothing was the mod look, a look consisting of bold geometric shapes and designs (History of 1960s Fashion and Textiles). London fashion designers incorporated these bright and bold colors and shapes with boxy cuts and shorter hemlines. Soon after these fashions became popular in London, they migrated and inspired designers in the United States (History of 1960s Fashion and Textiles).
Fashion did not only change for women during the 1960's, it also changed dramatically for men. The Victoria and Albert Museum article also discusses how the "Peacock Revolution" was a major turning point in men's fashion (History of 1960s Fashion and Textiles). This revolution entailed designers adding color and prints to men's apparel (History of 1960s Fashion and Textiles). Men's shirts, pants, and suits began to embody color and bold prints. This change in men's clothing was groundbreaking. Prior to this shift in style, men had not worn colors other than neutrals in over 150 years (History of 1960s Fashion and Textiles).

Lilly Pulitzer introduced her men's line shortly after this fashion revolution. The author's of the article "Pulitzer, Lilly," published on the Fashion Encyclopedia website by Richard Martin and Owen James, discusses the premier of the Lilly Pulitzer's men's line in 1969 named the line "Men's Stuff" (Martin & James). This line embodied qualities from the Peacock Revolution, such as the introduction of color into men's wear. Lilly Pulitzer's "Men's Stuff" line incorporated the bright and bold prints and colors that were already showcased in both her women's and children's lines. 
This was the state of fashion when Lilly Pulitzer premiered her signature shift dress at her Palm Beach, FL lemonade stand in 1959. Lilly Pulitzer's lemonade stand would eventually become the location where she unintentionally became famous. As told by Lizzie Bramlett, author of the article titled "Pulitzer, Lilly" on VintageFashiongGuild.org, Lilly Pulitzer decided to make a brightly colored, printed dress to hide the stains she continuously got on her apron from making juice for her lemonade stand (Bramlett). As her juice stand grew in popularity, her customers began to notice her new attire. The women began asking about where the dress came from, and quickly after everyone was raving about it. Bramlett later discusses, how soon enough Lilly Pulitzer's customers began asking her to make them one of them, which is when she became more popular for her dresses then her juice (Bramlett). This was the official moment when Lilly Pulitzer became a fashion designer. As stated by the official Lilly Pulitzer website, what started out as a small business at her Palm Beach juice stand eventually flourished into a national loved corporation in 1959 (Our Story: Lilly Pulitzer).

Lilly Pulitzer's designs first struck fame when her college best friend Jackie Kennedy wore them in a LIFE magazine cover in 1962 (Livingston). Jackie Kennedy grabbed the public's attention instantly. Her high social status as the first lady and her high respect as a fashion icon made her the perfect person to publically debut Lilly's classic shift dress. Jackie stopped wearing the typical 1950's trends. She strayed away from formal dresses, hats, gloves, and long hemlines, and in turn favored Lilly Pulitzer's more casual and simple designs. As a result, American women followed her lead (Livingston). America raved about Jackie Kennedy's dress soon after the magazine was released, and Lilly Pulitzer became recognized as a designer (Livingston). Women loved the combination of comfort, femininity, and color that were embodied in Lilly Pulitzer's designs, which began the Lilly phenomenon.

Lilly Pulitzer's loud prints and bold colors began to pop up all over 1960's and 1970's fashion. She helped bring a new, casual, and weather appropriate look to the women of the 1960's (Livingston). Many women became fascinated with this new look because of its booming popularity. It even caused some women to want one of Lilly Pulitzer's designs. One of the main reasons women wanted a Lilly Pulitzer design was because of their exclusivity (Hagwood). At first, Lilly Pulitzer designs were only sold to celebrities and the extreme elite (Our Story: Lilly Pulitzer). Families such as the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, the Whitneys, and the Kennedys were the only ones who could afford her clothing (Hagwood). However, over time the brand became less exclusive and trickled down to those who had wealth, but were not necessarily American icons.

The admiration for Lilly Pulitzer quickly spread and people began to recognize the value and status a Lilly Pulitzer design held. A woman wearing a Lilly Pulitzer dress was instantly deemed be well off. This recognition came with the brand because of its exclusivity when it began in the 1960's (Hagwood). The brand was always most popular in Palm Beach, FL because it was the location where the Lilly Pulitzer brand originated. Owning a Lilly Pulitzer design in Palm Beach became a rite of passage, and over time Lilly Pulitzer was deemed the "uniform" of those who vacationed in Palm Beach (Norwich).

Another nickname the Lilly Pulitzer brand quickly adopted was the "Lilly." A "Lilly" is the nickname for one of Lilly Pulitzer's famous sundresses (Langer). This nickname first began in 1959, and continued to be commonly used until present day (Langer). Additionally, you will hear people refer to all Lilly Pulitzer designs as "Lilly's." The term "Lilly's" refer to a bunch of designs or the brand as a whole, rather than one design in particular. These terms are used by those well versed in fashion designers and brands, and of course by Lilly Pulitzer lovers.

The unique thing about Lilly Pulitzer clothing is how people instantly recognize it.  The bold, vibrant colors and repetitive patterns and prints are a trademark of the brand. Lilly Pulitzer is best known for its whimsical and tropical prints (Bramlett). There are such a wide variety of prints she and her designers have created over the years, ranging from floral to animal to beach to shapes to lines. Each of these patterns has a specific color scheme to go along with the prints theme. However, the most popular or recognized colors of the Lilly Pulitzer brand are pink and green (Hagwood). Lilly is most well known for these colors because of their preppy feel, and have fact that they became a "banner of the authentic Palm Beach lifestyle" (Hagwood). Lilly Pulitzer is constantly refreshing their look with new patterns and prints, making the brand fresh and new each season (Our Story: Lilly Pulitzer).

Another contributing factor to the instantaneous recognition of a Lilly Pulitzer design are the clean-cut lines. The first Lilly Pulitzer design was a shift dress; a boxy cut that does not cling to the body, and instead hangs off the body (Livingston). This straight-cut silhouette of the shift dress was what first set Lilly Pulitzer apart from the fashions of the 1950's, and what originally sparked the interest of the women of the time (Livingston). The brand still has dresses that follow the classic shift silhouette, however there are other styles as well. Today, there are a variety of styles of including halter, sleeveless, and sleeved dresses. However, the one thing all of these dresses have in common are their clean-cut and conservative lines. Lilly dresses typically fall right above the knee, and do not hug the body too closely from the waist down. Even though styles have evolved since the 1960's, Lilly Pulitzer has stayed true to her classic, conservative look, while still remaining current in her designs.

The last contributing factor to the Lilly look is its "preppy" feel. Bright colors, statement prints, and conservative silhouettes are the recipe for Lilly's preppy look. The Lilly polo is another piece in her collection that fits perfectly into this preppy mold. Part of the reason Lilly Pulitzer clothing is deemed "preppy" is because of the market of people Lilly was trying to attract when the brand originated. Lilly Pulitzer herself grew up in wealth, attending private school, and eventually marrying into the elite Pulitzer family (Langer). Lilly's background and social circle helps explain her style and the type of market she was aiming to attract when shaping her brand and clothing.

The overarching theme that pulls the Lilly Pulitzer brand together is a carefree lifestyle. Lilly Pulitzer created her brand with the image of luxury and whimsy. She painted a picture of a lifestyle that people desired in her resort-inspired clothing. The bright colors, tropical prints, and bold patterns brought people closer to living the carefree, Palm Beach lifestyle. Lilly Pulitzer made her mark in fashion by creating unique clothing that stands out. She brought a new twist to preppy, and created a lifestyle brand that people wanted to be a part of.
