Lilly Pulitzer Launches A New Collaboration With Pottery Barn And Expands Their West Coast Retail

If there is one brand that pioneered Instagramable style decades before the Internet even existed, it’s Lilly Pulitzer. However, the brand’s namesake founder became a designer and fashion icon purely by accident.

After marrying citrus grove operator Herbert Pulitzer Jr, the New York socialite decided to open up a fresh-squeezed juice stand in Palm Beach. It turned out one of the biggest challenges of her business wasn’t the Floria heat, but rather the juice stains on her clothing. So she turned lemons into lemonade and designed a brightly printed shift dress that would make those accidental splashes of juice less noticeable. But, Pulitzer’s customers ended up being more interested in her dresses than her juice.

She ran her company from 1959 to 1984 before shutting it down. Nine years later, Pulitzer sold the rights to Sugartown Worldwide, Inc. They expanded the line to become a true lifestyle brand with a variety of products including decor, furniture, fabrics, stationery, and gifts.

From Palm Beach To Newport Beach

On April 6^th, 2019 Lilly Pulitzer opened up their 64th company-owned store, an 1852 square foot boutique at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. This store is the first location planned as part of the company’s West Coast expansion. CEO Michelle Kelly says they chose Fashion Island in particular because “[It] is truly the premier shopping center in the area and has a very welcoming team that’s helping us settle into our new store and market.”

The Orange County store is in good company with upscale shops including Joie, Peter Millar and Rebecca Taylor. It is anchored by department stores Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus.

Kelly describes the boutique as a jewel box. “It’s one of our smaller stores in terms of square footage yet it has a very impactful storefront and makes the most of every inch of space.”

Come For The Fashion, Stay For The Photo Opps

Every Lilly Pulitzer boutique is unique in its own way, designed to pay homage to the locale. Newport Beach is no different. “This store is very Lilly’s Palm Beach meets Southern California—it’s sunny, optimistic, and embraces a love of color and art,” says Kelly. “There are many special details that we celebrate in our brand history and across our stores like the Lilly story that’s hand-painted in one fitting room in every store.”

It was also designed to be a place where customers can take photos and create content for social media. “The phrase share-worthy doesn’t even begin to describe what happens in our stores,” Kelly explains. “The hand-painted fitting rooms, hand-shelled details, detailed art hung on the walls, and of course Lilly clothing make for a shopping experience created with your Instagram feed in mind.  Hand painted prints and artistry have been part of the brand for the past 60 years and we’re happy to have this unique retail experience shared out.”

Store details also include beautiful wicker chairs with bright print cushions and mother of pearl accented lighting fixtures. 

Bringing It Home

But the store opening isn’t the company’s only big news this year. A second collaboration with furniture retailer Pottery Barn was launched to coincide with the company’s 60^th anniversary in March. The collection features 43 new prints across three brands, Pottery Barn, PBTeen and Pottery Barn Kids.

This line is incredibly extensive with over 100 items for every room in the home including the living room, bedroom (kids and adults), backyard and for the first time, bathroom. Bath items include embroidered hand towels, shower curtains and even wrap towels for kids.

The brands celebrated the collaboration with an event in New York attended by actress Elizabeth Chambers (wife of Armie Hammer) and her adorable daughter Harper, donned in matching Lilly Of The Jungle print dresses. This print is available for fashion as well as home items including pillows, bed linens and cushions.

This post first appeared on Forbes.com. To see the original, click here.