Category — Bee’s Knees

I’m re-posting a previous piece I wrote in honor of the incomparable Lilly Pulitzer.  She will be dearly missed but her colorful spirit and style will shine on. Heaven just got a lot brighter!

Ooh La Lilly!

You don’t have to be the subject of a Slim Aarons photo to appreciate the Ooh La La of Lilly Pulitzer, lovelies.

Classic & chic, preppy & pretty ~ Lilly is a party waiting to happen!

When Manhattan socialite Lillian McKim eloped with Peter Pulitzer and moved to Palm Beach, she needed something to occupy her well-manicured hands…

As the young bride of an owner of several citrus groves, what better endeavor than opening an orange juice stand? Lilly enjoyed this new venture but found herself covered in splashes of fruit juice by the end of the day ~ so she and her dressmaker designed colorful shift dresses in citrus hues to camouflage the stains.

She soon realized customers were thirsty for only one thing: her fabulous frocks! To the delight of local ladies and other chic girlfriends like Jackie O., Lilly closed the juice stand and opened Lilly Pulitzer Inc. in 1959.

“Jackie wore one of my dresses – it was made from kitchen curtain material – and people went crazy. They took off like zingo. Everybody loved them, and I went into the dress business.” ~ Lilly Pulitzer

Lilly running from Peter’s plane ~ fabric swatches in hand.

La Lilly in one of her designs ~ love the sassed-up pose.

A prismatic palette of pretty, preppy and posh prints was born ~ and the rest is Palm Beach fashion history.

Pool or beach, yacht or garden, patio or porch, lunching or lounging ~ if you want to make any occasion special, bring on the Lilly.

A Lilly a day keeps the blues away ~ and with her vitamin D infused spring collection, you’ll feel sunshine on your sun-kissed shoulders when you slip on her lovely looks…

“It’s always summer somewhere.” ~Lilly Pulitzer

Here are some of my favorite pattern picks, pretties. Quel dilemma ~ it’s not possible to pick only one… Looks like I’ll need to try something in every chic & cheery print!

Spring Fever Toile

Scorpion Bowl

Jungle Glam Toile

Call Me Kitty Cat

Spritz

“Life‘s a party ~ dress like it!” ~Lilly Pulitzer

Illustration credit, Lilly Pulitzer.

You know those days. You have a fan-flipping-tastic outfit on, feeling like the bee’s knees, and then record scratch! Someone more fabulous flits in the picture with a lovelier, lust-have outfit on, leaving you feeling like a fourth-grader in knee socks (no matter how chic the socks are). Le sigh and c’est la vie, mes chéris.

New Year’s Eve circa my freshman year in college: I was at my friend Jacque’s house with a pack of our sorority sisters, primping before some pop-fizz-clink in NYC. We were feeling pretty pleased with our outfits until someone sassier stepped in. The scene stealer in this case was Jacque’s older sister and the lust-worthy outfit (or more specifically, the coat) wasn’t just from any old store…

It was a gorgeous glam trench coat, in a flirty length just above the knee, in an elegant champagne hue with a shimmery belt and chic fur collar. Her sister click-clacked down the stairs in her heels and golden locks, and dashed out the door. “Where…did she get that coat?” I asked Jacque. “Oh, Bergdorf’s,” she said. “She works there.”

Of course an older sister is always sophisticated, especially in a young girl’s eyes, but Bergdorf’s evokes a certain je ne sais quoi, and I’m not the only one to feel the fashionation…

Bergdorf’s is as famous for dressing its clients as it is for dressing its windows. See for yourself what the infatuation is all about ~ Matthew Miele’s documentary, Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf’s, opens on May 3rd! Color. Me. Giddy.

It promises to take fashion-loving mere mortals behind Bergdorf’s magical window displays to a place where “the rich and famous wield their power and eccentricity, where young and talented designers have their dreams granted and denied, and where money and ambition co-mingle with radical ideas of beauty and provocative style.“

“There is ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ and there is Bergdorf’s—it’s just something you fantasize about.”  ~Diane Von Furstenburg

In the meantime, you can get your fashion fix with the “companion” book to the documentary ~ and drink…

“Drinking.” ~Bergdorf’s Personal Shopper Extraordinaire Betty Halbreich’s answer, when asked what she’d be doing if she weren’t at Bergdorf’s.

Photo credits: Bergdorf Goodman, Le Petite Chic.

“Turn the beat around. It’s not just a song it’s a philosophy.” ~Brad Goreski, favorite stylist, philosopher & fashion crush.

Not only is Season 2 of It’s A Brad Brad World back ~ but I enjoyed a double-dose of Mr. G. with my other make-believe BFF, Andy Cohen on WWHL last night.

What a treat! Two wildly creative, incredibly original, hilarious handsome men ~ who also happen to be the perfect gentlemen.

“Follow your passion. Be yourself, but check yourself before you wreck yourself.” ~Andy Cohen

Hello, Monday! Let’s start this week off on the right foot.

“When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.” ~A.A. Milne

This faux Dior ad of Jennifer Lawrence (a.k.a. the new Miss Dior) is perfection. Love it and love her! The girl can even make a tumble look elegant.

They need to use this for the real campaign! JLaw is in good company ~ the current Miss Dior is the très chic and feminine Natalie Portman.

Her “La Vie En Rose” commercial (by the uber-stylish Sofia Coppola) is one of my faves ~ ever since I first saw it, Grace Jones‘ version of the song has been permanently placed on all of my playlists. J’adore!