SHOP Garden Menagerie
1. What inspired this print?
These first Fall prints were all about Garden Games and I have always loved the idea of menageries in the gorgeous estates of the past. What could be more fun than playing games amongst lions, camels, giraffes and elephants? I was also thinking of all of the twists and turns in gardens and turned that into the paisley, being inspired by garden gates and fun florals.
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SHOP Bocce
1. What inspired this print?
Fall is all about fresh, new beginnings-anything can happen. This print is playful and flirty, just like the “garden games” inspired delivery!
2. How did you come up with its name?
Not only do we love Bocce Ball (a great “garden game!”), but when we found out that “bocci” means “kiss” in Italian, it was a no brainer!
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As we continue our year of Lilly in Bloom, we find ourselves in a whimsical formal garden this Fall. In our world, the season is filled with color and print and our garden is no exception. Playful games and beaming flowers are aplenty. So go ahead, explore! Lose yourself and fall for Lilly.
Shop Fall
AHHH I am so excited today to be interviewing one of my best friends and a LILLY PULITZER alumnae – Rachel McGinn. Rachel worked with Lilly in our marketing department, most specifically on our gorgeous catalog. Rachel left the company a little while ago to focus on her photography career and has since launched an online magazine called Gray’s Lane. It is breathtaking, inspiring and CHIC. Last week, I played hooky on Friday afternoon and Rachel and I met at our swim club for lunch and SUN (heaven) and here’s what we chatted about…
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Adding some charm to our Guest House this Summer is Kiel James Patrick, founder & chief-designer of the popular Kiel James Patrick brand. We heard the buzz about KJP from friends a few Summers ago and watched the brand blossom – we were then delighted to see Kiel at Lilly Pulitzer’s 80th Birthday Party! (see the photo below) We fell in love with his designs and the story behind his brand and have since found one of our newest favorite fashion bloggers- Sarah Vickers (Classy Girls Wear Pearls). For now, learn all about Kiel James Patrick, but make sure to check back on Thursday to enter to win 1 of 2 one-of-a-kind KJP knot bracelets handcrafted using Lilly fabric!
1. Tell us about how Kiel James Patrick (the company 
) got started.
Just a twinkle in my parents eyes during their trip to…. oh… wait… how the company got started… right… My interest in fashion sparked in high school selling outrageous patterned blazers and pants out of the trunk of my Jeep. The school cracked down on dress code once I had half my classmates strolling the halls like we were at the Caddy Shack country club. I then redirected my efforts to create eye-catching ties, belts and bracelets that could be worn to class under the uniform, in order to keep pushing the dress code beyond its limits. Once I was out of high school, Sarah and I decided to take my designs to the streets. We worked for several weeks at a time, making hundreds of bracelets to start selling all Summer long at Crafters Markets in Cape Cod. To our surprise we sold out of our bracelet stockpile in ONE day and the rest is history [in the making].
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Last month, I had the GLORIOUS assignment to jet-off to Capri, Italy for a week to get inspiration for next Summer’s shoe and bag collection. It was… as good as it sounds. A-MAZING. Heaven. Perfect. A Dream.
I packed my bags and was off with a suitcase full of Lilly sundresses, McKims and a couple bikinis. The best part? I packed my boyfriend too. I did! He was just too adorable to leave behind and SOMEONE needed to take the pictures of all the shoes/bags/colors/trends I was eying! I was too busy roaming the streets with a gelato – no spare hands for snapping images of the resort chic trends! I’m not revealing his name so let’s just refer to the BF as Paradise.
So Paradise and I arrived in Rome…
Took a taxi to the train station.
Train to Naples.
Taxi to the marina.
Ferry to Capri.
Funocalare up the cliffs to the gorgeous piazza of Capri.
Quite a journey but every mode of transportation we took was part of the adventure! (Thank goodness Paradise has a great sense of direction or else I would still be in the Rome baggage claim).
So why Capri? Well since the 50′s, Capri has been a destination for the resort chic traveler. Lilly told me that some summers she would go and spend a month on the island and her kids would run around “like wild Indians.” Lilly’s friend Jacqueline Kennedy was also a frequent visitor to Capri and she spent lots of her time there…shoe shopping! Around 1946-ish tiny sandal shops popped up in Capri and over the years it has become widely known as ‘the place’ to get the chicest handmade sandals. You pick your footbed (flat or wedge) choose from hundreds of embellished straps, they measure your foot and VOILA, Capri Sandals! I saw the most glamorous Grecian sandals by day and the hiiiiiighest of high wedges at night. I saw neon, which is no surprise….but more importantly I saw hints of the PASTEL COLORS that are about to flood the market. Trend watch: soft sorbets are coming. Hooray! We love our cashmere in pastels. So pretty!
As if that wasn’t enough, Capri is also known for its red coral…which is sooooooo beautiful and bonus- there are jewelry stores EVERYWHERE – I was definitely in my element. I spent days shopping, browsing and observing – and taking LOTS of pictures!! (at least one of us did)
I also managed to have some pretty spectacular adventures. We walked down an INSANE cliff to a rocky beach and swam in the Mediterranean. Took a day trip to Sorrento (the most picturesque Italian town) for – you guessed it – shoe shopping. Made a wish under the Faraglioni rocks, sealed with a kiss. Drank wine. Ate the best pizza I have ever had in-my-entire-life. Nibbled on octopus which…well let’s just say I didn’t loooove as much as the pizza. Dove off a boat into the sea and swam near cliffs where the red coral grows. Had a very romantic dinner in a lemon grove, sitting right under the trees surrounded by twinkling lights. Magical is the word I’d use to describe it all.
As you all know I am incredibly sentimental. I believe that it’s up to you to happen to life, not let it happen to you…and this trip was one of those moments. I am so lucky that I got to experience everything that Capri has to offer and my mind is racing a million miles an hour with ways to incorporate the resort chic feel of Capri into new designs for our upcoming accessory collections. I promise they will be spectacular and will make you feel like you’re in Capri with me!
xx, Janie
SHOP Whales’ Tails
1. What inspired this print?
These cute whales riding in the waves are inspired by a boat trip I took to the tip of Cape Cod to do some whale watching. We kept an eye out for whale tails and blowholes!
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Shop Sailor’s Valentine (in pink AND blue!)
1. What inspired this print?
My husband Jack & I (yes, THAT Jack) always love visiting the beach every summer. It reminds me of when I was a little girl. We love to collect shells on the beach and go antiquing at the shops in the little beach towns. The ornate shell art that we’ve found in the vintage shops and the shells we have collected from our walks on the beach, were my inspiration for the Sailor’s Valentine print. I thought configuring the shells into a pretty pattern would make for a wonderful and fresh looking print for our Summer Collection that our girl would absolutely love!
2. How did you come up with its name?
Sailor’s Valentines are seashell mosaics that were created by sailor’s in the late 1800′s from the shell treasures he collected during his journey at sea as a gesture of love to their sweetheart.
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Janie takes us through her most recent trip to India with Sarah!
HOLY SMOKES — I recently got back from a trip to India. It was truly one of the most amazing experiences of – my – life. I appreciate and love my life so completely but going on such an adventure made me realize, so much more, how lucky I really am. (so lucky in fact that I was able to have this opportunity on a work trip!)
Because living in tunics is a way of life for our customers, we set out to make tunics with the world’s experts. From cotton casual tunics over our swim suits to fancy silk tunics over pants, they are a wardrobe essential. But first things first- we wanted to make sure started with the right fabric and found the most perfect place to print our gorgeous artwork!
Sarah Dupre is my partner in crime. She handles all fabric development and she is quite simply one of the loveliest women I know. I love it when I get the chance to travel with her. So we were OFF! A direct flight – 15 hours later we land in Delhi, India. We stayed at The Imperial which is amazing. An amazing, amazing old word hotel – gorgeous but simple.
DAY 1:
The most hysterical start to the day… Sarah and I come down to breakfast in…the same outfit. TRUST ME – this happens at Lilly a lot. But, the same neon orange pants? In India? I changed -but not before a picture!
Delicious breakfast and then a day spent in a tunic factory. The embroideries, the embellishments… we are in love. The company’s owner hosted us in his office for lunch and we had the most delicious homemade (by his family!) Indian meal. My favorites were DAL (lentils) and GOBI (cauliflower- grown on his farm!).
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