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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Shop High Tide Toile
1. What inspired this print?
There are few times when I am happier than when I am on the beach. I love spending the day on a big beach towel, surrounded by friends, laughing about the events from the night before. Armed with iced tea and tons of magazines, we get warm in the sun and cool off in the water. I am usually desperately trying to get a tan but if I had a cute striped umbrella like the ones in this print I might be more responsible about staying in the shade…
2. How did you come up with its name?
The tide looks like it is coming up in this print. There is a lot of movement. You can almost see the waves breaking on the sand.
3. What secrets are hidden?
Sunbathers are hidden all over this print, many of them inspired by friends and family! “Lilly” is hidden all over the place, you can find it in the waves, fences, tents and grass.
4. What materials (watercolors, acrylic, block print…) did you use or combine to create the artwork?
I created High Tide Toile with pen and watercolor.
5. What does this print say about the Lilly girl wearing it?
That summer is her favorite time of year and she adores the beach!
Shop Chiquita Bonita
This print is a summer statement maker. It has a fun story behind it too…it actually STARTED as an embroidery. Print Designer Stacey Novelli painted it, the print design team fell in love and sent it out as an embroidery. The sample came in and everyone just died. We loved it so much that it was turned into a print… normally things go the other way around! It’s printed on a light summer cotton with lurex running through it – which means it has a bit of sparkle — and who can resist a little print with a little sparkle?!?!?! Here’s more of the story behind the print from Stacey…
1. What inspired this print?
Nothing reminds me more of summer than shells. I collect shells each summer with my daughter at the beach and decided to do a print/embroidery based on the collection I’ve created over the years. I also used starfish as the place card holders at my wedding (which was on the beach!) so I had to incorporate those as well. I am a beach girl at heart and love SUMMER most of all!
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Shop Chum Bucket
Boy oh, boy do our Lilly Lovers have some strong feelings about this print name!! And our print designer Jeff, the ar-teest behind this print, will side with you on the eww-factor of the name – he’s not a big fan of the name either. But you guys know- we LOVE to have fun and Janie has quite the sense of humor, so this is just us sharing our “never-take-yourself-too-seriously” side. After all, Lilly is the creator of conversational prints and I guess that’s just what we have here! 
Here are some quick thoughts from Jeff about the print…
1. What inspired this print?
The print was inspired by the seaside vacations I took as a child. My family would wake up early (no lazy beach vacations for us!) and take walks/runs on the beach looking for whatever treasures would wash up from the night before. Often it was shells and little sea creatures but sometimes we found really cool stuff that my brother’s and I would inevitably fight over. (especially when it was money!)
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SHOP You Gotta Regatta
Print Designer Paige Smith tells us a little more about the You Gotta Regatta print that we ALL gotta have this Summer!…
1. What inspired this print?
You Gotta Regatta was inspired by my summers spent on Lake Michigan. I think of the lake more as a fresh water ocean because although the water is COLD, the sand is white and the water is so clear. It is my absolute favorite place in the world. I am not a great sailor myself, my style is a little more sitting on the boat with a cocktail and possibly ducking when the boom swings. I love to sit on the porch or beach and WATCH the boats go by. I literally dream about the view all winter.
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Sun, sand and LILLY PULITZER. It just rolls off the tongue…which is why our Summer catalog shoot took us beach side. (you know what they say…when duty calls!) As soon as we got one glimpse of the Summer collection against the blue sky, we could not WAIT to share it with you! Now that it’s finally here, we are thrilled!
Along with the beach side pictures, you will notice a few festive back drops. From the nautical navy stripe, to the wall of beautiful shells…oh this season is just too much fun. Our models were absolutely gorgeous as they showcased the season’s hottest shades. And speaking of shades, we are looooving the glow of neon featured on our front cover!! Yes, brighter is better. (but our Lilly girl already knows that!)
So, grab your beach chair or at least your shades (May is almost upon us) and soak in what we hope will be one of your favorite beach reads! And don’t forget to check out our behind the scenes video for a sneak peek at the Lilly Pulitzer crew on set. HAPPY SUMMER! xx
Our Guest House has been quiet for a while so we’re excited to liven it back up with Kathy Magee, Co-Founder and President of Operation Smile. Some of you may know that we chose Operation Smile as our partner organization this year as we team up with Barnum’s Animals for our 3rd year of creating their special addition box. Operation Smile, who is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, has an incredibly worthwhile cause of helping people smile. Lilly knows a thing or two about that, so we thought it was the perfect organization to partner with to brighten people’s days. We wanted our Lilly Lovers to know more about Operation Smile so we kicked back with Kathy and asked her to fill us in…
1. Tell us a little bit about Operation Smile
Operation Smile is an international charity that works in more than 60 countries to provide free reconstructive surgery for children suffering from facial deformities such as cleft lips and cleft palates. We have mobilized more than 5,000 medical volunteers from over 80 countries to help us transform lives and heal these children’s smiles. We also are committed to training local doctors so that we can create self-sufficiency in developing countries. By building local medical capacity, we are able to dramatically increase access to safe surgery for vulnerable populations worldwide.
2. What prompted you and your husband, Dr. Bill Magee, to found Operation Smile?
Almost 30 years ago, Bill and I volunteered for a surgical mission to the Philippines. There, we encountered hundreds of children suffering from facial deformities. However, our team was only equipped to help a small number of those children. We vowed that we would be back to help those children we had to leave behind. It was this experience that drove us to establish Operation Smile.
Every three minutes, a child somewhere in the world is born with a cleft. One in 10 of those children will die before their first birthday. They often can’t eat, drink or speak properly. Our volunteers, donors and supporters are determined to help us make a difference for these children and heal their smiles.
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1/ Powderpuff Embroidery 2/Mini Mariposa 3/ Mariposa Placed 4/ Mariposa print
We think every girls goes ga-ga for hydrangeas, so the fact that we adore them shouldn’t come as a surprise. They bloom in beautiful colors, they make the most amazing hedgerow (it just screams “Welcome to my Cottage by the Sea“) and the fact that they are such a popular wedding flower means seeing them = love — so what’s NOT to love?? If you’re thirsty for some Hydrangea facts, read on!
- There are over 20 species of hydrangeas, but only 5 grow in the United States. (booo… we want all 20!!)
- The most popular are the mophead hydrangeas and used mostly in home gardens. They produce pink, blue and white blossoms.
- Annabelle hydrangeas resemble the mopheads, but only produce white flowers. They are a popular plant to use as a hedge because of how easy they are to trim. (but really, we think we like the pink, purple & blue!)
- Oakleafs are native to the U.S. and grow white cone shape blossoms.
- Paniculata hydrangeas are the largest, growing between 8 and 10 feet tall as well as wide-a pretty way to create backyard privacy!
- Lastly, Lacecap hydrangeas grow more in woodland areas and have a center blossom resembling the baby’s breath flower, with a typical hydrangea blossom outlining the edges. Read More
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