NEWS

Johnson Contends At Memorial

Dunning Golf staff player Zach Johnson tied for second at the Memorial Tournament.



Pima U.S. Open Bound

Pima Direct announces it will provide private label apparel for the next four U.S. Open venues.



FEATURE

Summer Beach Pass

By Janice Ferguson
GPA Fashion Correspondent

Most gifts-with-purchase promotions leave you with items that you really do not need -- another make-up pouch, miniature-sized lotions, potions and fragrance vials that end up under your sink for months until you finally move them to the trash bin.
That is until now.

Lilly Pulitzer's giveaways: In June, a swim bag (left); in July, a beach chair.
You will not get discards when signing up for Lilly Pulitzer's "Summer Beach Pass" promotion. They call them beachy must-haves -- we call them pretty cool stuff, and all limited edition to boot.

Last month's giveaway was a nifty Lilly-patterned cooler and June offers up a useful swimsuit storage bag. But brace yourself for July's gift-with-purchase -- a Lilly beach chair. Cha-ching.

The one downside is the disclaimer, "while supplies last," and we know that won't be for more than five minutes.

So how do you get one?

Here are the three easy steps -- then, you're on your own to plot shopping strategy and sharpen the elbows.

1) Stay tuned for special "Summer Beach Pass" e-mails at the start of each month;

2) Print out the "Summer Beach Pass" and run to the nearest participating retailer or Lilly signature store (listed on the Web site) to find out how to get these one-per-customer limited edition goodies;

3) Since this is a gift-with-purchase promotion, you need to buy something to get the prize, so be sure to check out the golf shorts, skorts and polos featuring summer weight fabric using airspun cotton. It's a lighter, softer feeling cotton created by infusing air into the yarn during the spinning process. It is perfect for playing on warmer, humid days.

In case you don't know the Lilly Pulitzer story, it is a good one.

It all started with a juice stand in Palm Beach. Lilly, a young, sassy New York socialite had eloped with Peter Pulitzer, grandson of the Pulitzer Prize's Joseph Pulitzer and settled in Palm Beach to live the life of the rich and famous.

Peter owned several Florida citrus groves, but Lilly needed a project of her own. So in the late 1950s, with Peter's produce, she opened a juice stand on Via Mizner, just off Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.

Lilly Pulitzer's business was a hit, but squeezing oranges, lemons, limes, and pink grapefruit made a mess of her clothes. Realizing that she needed a juice stand uniform, Lilly asked her dressmaker to design a dress that would camouflage the stains.

The result? A comfortable sleeveless shift made of bright, colorful printed cotton -- pink, green, yellow and orange. The dress even had custom dressmaker details like lining and lace seam bindings. It was perfect for the job and became Lilly's first Classic Shift.

Although her customers liked Lilly's juice, they loved her dress. When people began to ask if they could buy the dress, Lilly had a few more made up to sell in the stand. Soon Lilly was selling more dresses than juice, so she decided to stop squeezing and to focus on designing and selling her "Lillys."

Before long, Jackie Kennedy, an old school chum, began wearing Lillys and, as First Lady, was featured in Life Magazine wearing a Classic Shift. Then, of course, everyone wanted one and Lilly Pulitzer became a fashion sensation.

Through the 1960s and '70s, the Lilly Pulitzer line was the unofficial uniform of the affluent at play. Lilly Pulitzer stores sprang up in the favorite resorts of the jet set crowd and Lilly's pink and green colors became the banner of the preppy lifestyle.

In 1984, however, Lilly closed her doors to settle into retirement with her second husband, Enrique Rousseau (her marriage to Peter had ended in 1969) and to enjoy her grandchildren. For the rest of the decade, Lilly devotees were left to scour flea markets and re-sale shops to find their beloved vintage Lillys.

In January 1993, the Lilly Pulitzer line was revived.

Now, Lilly Pulitzer is more popular than ever. The Lilly Pulitzer line is now available in over 70 Lilly Pulitzer Signature Shops, company owned retail stores, major department stores, and fine specialty stores nationwide. Its popularity continues to grow among those who knew it years ago and those who have just discovered the timeless fun of Lilly Pulitzer apparel.