Lilly: Palm Beach, Tropical Glamour, and the Birth of a Fashion Legend

by Kathryn Livingston

The real story behind a very private American fashion icon—Lilly Pulitzer Today, Lilly Pulitzer's iconic brand of clean-cut, vibrantly printed clothes called "Lillys" can be spotted everywhere. What began decades ago as a snob uniform in Palm Beach became a general fashion craze and, later, an American classic. In contrast to the high visibility of her brand, Lilly Pulitzer has largely kept her tumultuous personal story to herself. Bursting forth into glossy fame from a protected low-key world of great wealth and high society, through heartbreaks, treacheries, scandals, and losses, her life, told in detail here for the first time, is every bit as colorful and exciting as her designs. Lilly is a must read not only for fans of Lilly Pulitzer and her Lilly brand, but for anyone interested in a journey through the world of privilege and the life of a true American original.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Fashion, History

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 24, 2012

About the author

Kathryn E. Livingston has been writing about parenting issues for more than twenty-five years; recently, she’s turned her pen to the topic of yoga.

Livingston blogs for the Huffington Post on seasoned motherhood and empty-nest issues, and for the Kundalini yoga music website Spirit Voyage, and her work appears in the popular online yoga magazine Elephant Journal. She is a supporting blogger for Dr. Susan Love’s Army of Women, an online effort to research and eradicate breast cancer.

Reviews

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a Lilly lover, I looked forward to reading about the legend behind the popular, preppy Lilly Pulitzer brand. It was quite disappointing to find this book light on Lilly McKim Pulitzer. Rather than focus on Ms. Pulitzer, the author dished on the history of the Palm Beach social scene and it's origins; there was a lot of jumping around from heir to socialite to playboy with a limited back story and very little substance about the Lilly Pulitzer brand or Ms. Pulitzer's background. I'd say about one-fourth of the book was about Lilly and her first husband, Peter, with the majority not really focusing on one person or family. It reminded me of a gossipy older socialite telling an unfocused story after a few cocktails. Disappointing, especially since I bought this book!

[Jules peacock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the parts about Lilly, but the author spent way too much time focusing on people who had absolutely nothing to do with her life.

[Carter David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lilly is one of my biggest icons but this book was a large ramble on random people that interacted with her. I was expecting a book about Lilly not her social circle

[Leanne Schneider · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not enjoying this as much I hoped I would. It's less a biography about Lilly and more a biography about every rich & famous society person in American from the late 1800's, through the decades. And how they are all connected to each other and to Lilly. The author could've just drawn a flow-chart for that...and then wrote a book about Lilly. I get the feeling that the author does not know her subject at all and therefore is filling in space by talking about all those other people. She could've wrote a magazine article about Lilly, instead. I'm halfway through the book and don't feel that I know Lilly at all.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Built almost entirely from previously published works and interviews by other people. Not juicy, too worshipful of rich people. (Preppies are known for their work ethic and sense of fair play. Sure. They. Are.) It's not an "accomplishment" to inherit money and get someone to build a big house for you or to breed horses that other people ride to victory. It's not luck when your business succeeds when you have a ton of connections to the levers of power. Name-dropping to the point of nonsense.

There are places where she captures the glamour and ease of Palm Beach, the mishmash of influences and designs and activities. Mostly I did not care for the actual writing. Long convoluted sentences, and MY GOD too many jumps around in time.

How nice that Lilly had a Swedish dressmaker (WHO IS NEVER NAMED DESPITE ALL THE OTHER TANGENTIALLY ASSOCIATED RICH PEOPLE WHO GET NAME-DROPPED) who made the early dresses for her. And then got introduced to someone who had selling connections and to a gay couple in Key West to design the prints.

The book's underlying assumption is that Lilly succeeded because of who she was, her innate sense of style. And, sure, that was part of it. But wealth and social context smooth over a lot of things. Superficial summary at best.

[Lauren Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book kept jumping around and seemed to be name dropping more than a story on her life...

[Leslie Goddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most complete biography of Lilly, and I admire Livingston so much for tackling such a tough subject for a biography. What Pulitzer accomplished was so remarkable and so wildly successful, she deserves a full biography, but she herself was so notoriously private that it must have been like climbing a mountain of sand to write this. Livingston does an admirable job digging into the world around Pulitzer, which isn't a bad idea but I got lost in the endless biographies ("so-and-so was born in 19-- in the city of -- and married -- in 19-- ..."). Before long the biographies inevitably got confused in my mind. Still, I'm glad Pulitzer has her own biography and that the story behind the iconic fashion brand is available

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much Social Register, not enough Lilly! This book was a hot mess, disorganized, distracted, one dimensional. There are literally pages and pages listing people's stories pedigrees who have nothing to do with Lilly, then, at the end of the book it is casually mentioned that: oh, remember Lilly's favorite sister? She committed suicide 30 yrs ago! Shame on the editor.

[Natasja Holben Handy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty dull, unfortunately. And surprisingly vapid, for a book based on someone who seemed so unconcerned with high society.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overdue book reviews from my summer reading...

I love Lilly and am fascinated by Palm Beach, so I grabbed this book when I saw it at the library. What a great find! This biography of Lilly Pulitzer explores her life and the development of her famous fashion line as well as the world of Palm Beach and famous individuals related to Lilly.

Picking up this book, I was a little nervous that I'd discover things about Lilly that would make me dislike her. (This happened when I read about Diane von Furstenberg... I love her wrap dresses, but felt icky wearing them after learning about their designer.) But oh my goodness... like her designs, Lilly's life is a breath of fresh air! Light, fun and super interesting. Lilly is a true original.

There were several divorces and remarriages (lifestyles of the idol rich) but also a lot of emphasis on hard work, personal responsibility and entrepreneurship. For someone uber-rich and working in the fashion industry, Lilly's life betrayed a surprising amount of conservative values. She was focused on her family and saw her career as a fun bonus, but not a necessity. Wow! The ease with which she walked away from designing shows an astonishing amount of personal integrity. She was able to live an astounding life without being controlled by it. Reading this book inspired me to wear Lilly more often.

I plan to read the author's reference materials for this book. Throughout the book, she references several (hopefully good) additional books about fashion and the lifestyles of the uber-wealthy. I kept a list and I'm excited to follow this rabbit hole! It ignites my love of beauty without feeling tawdry.

I would read more by this author. I would also re-read this book.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many others who have reviewed this book, I also marked it down in rating because of the tangents the author goes on about things that aren't essential to Lilly's story. Her purpose is to give the reader an idea of the inter-connectedness of the American elite, to explain the history of Palm Beach and its social scene, and the aristocratic family histories of Lilly and important figures in her life. As a historian, I did find some of this to be interesting. However, the author jumps from Lilly's story to past generations, then back to Lilly's story and then gives details on the history of Lilly's friends and quotes from them. While the information may have been included to create a dynamic picture of Lilly and her social environment, the information seems disjointed, disorganized, jumpy and like a whole lot of unnecessary name-dropping. Her sentence structure makes following all this fluff of information very difficult at times.

All of that being said, the parts that directly relate to Lilly are very enlightening and provide an insight into a beloved fashion icon who preferred being out of the spotlight. I definitely recommend it to any Lilly fan, but be ready to skim large chunks of the book.

I wouldn't recommend buying this book unless you can find it for less than $5.00. Check it out from a library if there's one close enough.

[Devon Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an easy and interesting introduction to the personalities, trends, and lifestyles of Palm Beach — with a little bit of Lilly Pulitzer and her fashion brand mixed in. For being titled “Lilly”, one would expect the majority of the book to be about her, but the author spends most of the book’s length outlining the pedigree of Lilly Pulitzer’s family and background and describing the general history and milieu of Palm Beach than on a deep dive in Lilly’s life and fashion brand. Despite not getting a deep dive on the ins and outs of Lilly Pulitzer’s company, you do get an insider look at the lifestyles of the American elite, and serves as a great jumping off point for exploring the world of Palm Beach luxury and royalty.

[Beth Gastineau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. True it could have gone more in depth about the Lilly Brand, but I think that is just Lilly. It’s not a deep, intense entity. I am glad Lilly game back in a big successful way! I love all clothing that’s Lilly! Her personal life was fascinating to me, as someone who’s been exposed to the nanny and Social Register elite after a couple of summers working for a family in Rhode Island.

[Teresa Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not enough about Lilly's life. Too much history of other people and places. Less would have been better. I found myself skim reading to get past these sections looking for more on Lilly herself. I did enjoy the parts that concentrated on her life and story.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took way too long to read- practically all summer and it was pretty mediocre! I am a big fan of the clothing brand but this book was not too exciting and not nearly enough about Lilly. Not to mention typos including misspelling Lilly’s name! 🙄

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m halfway through and I’m so annoyed by the timeline jumps, the constant reference to Jackie Kennedy, and the tedious family tree. I’ll skim the rest, but I think this is another biography light on the details of the subject.

[Katie White · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read how Lilly became an accidental fashion designer. I wish the book had been more actual stories and events from Lilly's life and less a list of how her family and friends acquired their fortunes.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sloppy, rushed writing that distracted me from an undoubtedly interesting life story.

[Gina Navarra · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it was great to get to know more about Lilly Pulitzer, I expected the book to be more focused on her and less on the people of her life and the culture of Palm Beach in general.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but not much about Lilly.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing … there’s hardly any information about Lilly in here, buried in trivia about loads of other people.

[Reenie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun light over view of the legendary designer.

[SarahEmily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating look at a fascinating woman.

[Tyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love everything Lilly! I found this book especially fun and factual.

[Julianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and fun biography of one of the most prolific names in modern fashion.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved learning about my favorite fashion designer, Lilly Pulitzer, and her glamorous lifestyle. This book taught me a lot about business initiatives, creativity, and the immense wealth concentrated in Palm Beach, FL. There were grammar errors throughout the book, and sometimes the author went off on tangents that were irrelevant to the central topic. Too much name dropping, not enough direct quotes or personal anecdotes. But it was a pleasurable read and I would recommend it to anyone who wears or respects the Lilly Pulitzer brand. Makes me wish I could have met Lilly in person! What a fascinating life.

[Sarah Wilder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned so much about Lilly so I really appreciated that info but agree with other reviewers that the author goes off on very long, detailed tangents about other people who don't really have anything to do with this story and their whole backgrounds. I listened to audiobook so I couldn't just skim (and the audiobook narrated wasn't the best to listen to either-slightly high pitched and not a lot of inflection.)
But overall I'm happy to have read it to know more about Lilly. I never would have known about her stay in a mental institution while battling postpartum depression (implied).
Knowing more about Lilly makes me love her clothes and sunshiney colors even more.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read on Lilly Pulitzer that focuses heavily on the social relationships of Palm Beach as much as the accidental development of her brand Lilly. Touches on the initial break out of the Lilly shift, the socialites that wore it, middle americans wanting to emulate the upper-crust look, the demise of the brand, and one, if not the most successful brand come this century. At it's height in the 80's Lilly garnered 15 million, in 2008 the brand generated over $100 million, and is now owned by Atlanta based Oxford Industries.

[Candace Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography of Lily McKim Pulitzer made for light reading. It chronicles the life of a very wealthy heiress and her somewhat serendipitous entree into the world of fashion. The book did a good job of presenting the history and connections of the "Gatsby" like lives of the Palm Beach ultra rich.As an admirer of the line I enjoyed reading about it's history.



Unfamiliar word

pg. 31 Coterie: an exclusive group that shares similar interests

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read! Lilly McKim Pulitzer and her contemporaries live(d) a life so totally outside my existence that it was like reading about unicorns! I'd actually heard of the "Lillys", the little dresses that she started selling in Palm Beach, and that's why I picked up the book. A very quick read and, for me, more enlightening about the High Society folk than about fashion. Enjoyed it.