Bright, bold and ready for spring! Not only does that describe the iconic Lilly Pulitzer brand of American resort wear, but the women who embrace the individuality it represents. And Elfster applauds Lilly’s legacy, which encourages women everywhere to embrace color and fearlessness in every area of their lives.
Lilly Pulitzer was the ultimate Palm Beach hostess and socialite. In 1959ish, at the age of 21, Lilly and her new husband, Peter Pulitzer, left the hustle and bustle of New York City for the sunny climes of Palm Beach, Florida. As her husband ran the family orange groves, Lilly ventured into business by starting a juice stand on Worth Avenue in posh Palm Beach. She then found herself with a wardrobe full of juice-stained clothes — just the inspiration she needed to launch her colorful line of shift dresses in playful prints. Soon her dresses became popular in the country’s most fashionable resort towns and caught the eye of 1960’s trendsetters like Jackie Kennedy. As her company’s website explains, “Only Lilly’s zest for life could turn a colorfully-printed sleeveless cotton dress that was created to simply hide the juice stains on her clothing into a full fledged business. To think, it all started with a juice stand.”
Fast-forward 50+ years and the bold, colorful prints are still a favorite for those who embrace their bold individuality. Each vibrant print is hand-painted by talented designers and given names as unique as the prints themselves.
Elfster Gift Exchange connects their community
Just ask Elfster exchange organizer Lacie Phinney, who pays homage to all things Lilly in her online community connecting thousands of “Lilly Lovers” from all over the United States.
“I started the Shifting Lilly (a play on Lilly’s signature shift dress) Facebook group as a free place to buy and sell Lilly Pulitzer,” explains Lacie. This group now boasts a following of over [10,000] members. Lacie subsequently started another group as more of a chat room with “under 100 ladies who wanted to chat about our love of all things Lilly, but it kind of exploded from there!” she adds, as that group now has over [8,000] members! The Shifting Lilly Chat ladies “talk about the latest and greatest fashion and beauty finds from Lilly Pulitzer and other fun brands.”
“It might sound silly that a bunch of gals sit around and chat about clothing, but really our love of Lilly has introduced us to people we would have never in a million years met on our own,” Lacie explains. “Elfster has become a great icebreaker for our large group and lets us get to know each other even more.”
Lacie and her chat group held a secret santa style gift exchange on Elfster with over 225 participants. “Christmas time is sometimes hard to get everyone involved because they are busy with their close friends and families, so Valentine’s Day seemed like the best choice for our group,” she says. “I have used Elfster in the past for small exchanges and it worked out really well, so it was the obvious choice for the Valentine’s Day treat exchange. Candy and snacks are low pressure, inexpensive items that the girls can send and it was fun to do a ‘secret admirer’ spin on it.”
“Elfster makes it easier which in my book = fun. ;)” Lacie says. “The anonymous questions is one of the best features because it allows you to find out things about your person and I love to be extra goofy with mine. I ask questions that they know I know the answer to just to try to trick them.”
“The wish list items are also great for finding out things you didn’t know about your friends!” she adds. “I had no idea Michele’s home was decorated in such pretty colors or that Katie and Kiersten love Disney as much as I do. Even if they aren’t the person I drew, I still get to find out neat things about them.”
Are you a part of a group that loves to celebrate your individuality? We would love to hear how your group is using Elfster, too. You can reach us via Facebook here. Tweet us @elfster or catch us on Instagram @elfstergram.
