Is Anyone Else Sick of Lilly?
 

I have a daughter possibly going through rush this fall and I'm starting to think about her wardrobe. To tell you the truth, I think I'm going to steer her away from the Lily Pulitzer sundresses. For many years, I thought they were so cute and, admittedly own a few.

But it seems that every sorority related picture I see shows at least three or four girls in Lilly sundresses. I opened my latest issue of my alumnae magazine and what do I see? Lilly everywhere! (I mean, she does a lot of pink and green so I can see how it's a good choice for a DZ but still...enough is enough!).

Does anyone else agree with me? I think I'm going to look at Alice + Olivia or even some of the "calmer looking" Betsey Johnson for rush.

Maybe it's just me though? That's entirely possible! ;)

I'm with you. I have never been fond of Lily because it tends to stereotype sororities in a "uniform". Sort of like the preppy look of the 80s and the popped collars. I love a great shift for recruitment that is neither too short or too tight: understated and classy. Glad Lily isn't too popular in my neck of the woods.

I can't stand Lilly, but I love A+O--and you can find a lot of her dresses fairly cheaply on Ebay. Feel free to PM me for Ebay search tips if you're going that route; I do a lot of buying and resale through there and could potentially help you find nice deals on badly-listed items :)

NEVER HOW DARE YOU SLANDER THE NAME OF LILLY YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT ACTUALLY A SORORITY WOMAN IF YOU DON'T WORSHIP AT THE ALTER OF SHIFT DRESSES-

Haha nah. I can't really wear bright colors, particularly pink, with my coloring so a lot of her things are out for me. I do think everyone's (parents'?) wallets would appreciate it if we scaled back the obsession, though. I saw pictures of a chapter in full Lilly uniform for a November open house and they all just looked cold.

Thank you.
Thank you!
A lot of their dresses are cute, but a lot just look like overpriced sacks.
And they don't do plus sizes for some of us (grand)mamas! :mad:

I have never found a Lily dress that had a hemline appropriate for a woman my height.

Does your daughter get to have input for her rush?



In all seriousness, I'm not sick of Lilly, but then again you don't see a lot of Lilly up north so that's why. Also, I think I generally go for the more understated Lilly stuff. For example, I really liked the stuff that came out for fall/winter because they used a lot of navys/deeper fuschias. Of the Lilly stuff I own, only 1 top and 1 dress have the super bright, colorful patterns that you think of when you think of Lilly. The rest are solids or a lot more understated patterns.

I'd never heard of Alice + Olivia, so I Googled it. I liked a handful of things, but generally not for me. I have friends that would be into it. I do have to say though, holy polar opposite of Lilly!!!

I remember you said this in the Lilly thread, but I swear it's just the models! How tall are you, if you don't mind me asking? I'm 5'6'' and I bought a dress in their end of summer sale. I haven't worn it yet (because it's super summery) but I'm going to have it hemmed cause it's too long! Let me see if I can find a picture of it on the web somewhere...

ETA: Fooooound it! http://www.lillypulitzer.com/product...Dress/2895.uts

I wanted it to be the length like it is on the model, but it hits me at the knees, womp womp.

I personally am not sick of Lilly because I've never lived in a location where it's super popular. Whenever I wear my Lilly items, I always get compliments on the pattern and colors! I wore Lilly to my undergrad graduation

I have found that Lilly requires a ton of alterations for me, so if I want a Lilly look without those, I head to JCrew in the spring.

ETA: not a fan of the Alice and Olivia line--they look like stuck up snobby sacks! Too much black and white, I like color

I'm almost 5'11". There's stuff that's borderline, but I just try to buy longer hems than most of what they show.

^^Yup!
I've never been big on the floral patterns and have stayed more towards the one color with embroidery. It could also be that Lilly is almost non-existant around here. I also tend to go for J Crew or Aritizia if I want something. I hate to buy things online without trying them on first. I also don't like the A and O line. Perhaps it's the models, but it seems like the clothes would drape over the women without really complimenting them. Like she said, a sack. They also seem like a step down from Bebe. Too many sequins unless it's Vegas, but also snobby. At least the Lilly models look like they are enjoying the clothes they are wearing and that they have a personality.

Ah ha, well then I can see how that can be a problem!

I was not familiar with Betsey Johnson, so I googled it. I'd stick with LP.

This is a featured item on the website. My jaw dropped. The only thing I can say is that this would definitely work with those hooker-style sorority pumps we all heckled a couple months back. ;)

http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Stev...$bj-THUMB-CAT$

^^^ Oh, and my signature should in no way be interpreted as a caption for that catalog photo!

It's so overrated.

haha BJ has a lot of cute, funky dresses but I would never suggest wearing this. :p

Absolutely not! I'm writing the checks so I'm in charge!


I'm kidding of course :) I guess I did sound kind of like a Smother Mother in my first post! She can absolutely wear what she wants; but she is willing to listen to my input since I'm familiar with rush.

Looking forward helping my daughter plan her wardrobe, once we know where she will be attending. One of her schools does not even send acceptances til April 1st! Two schools are fall recruitment and three are winter so I don't even know which season yet.... My D's likes go from Lily to Betsy Johnson so it should be interesting. We have also had discussions about sitting on the floor in a dress.

Bwahahaha! I love your sense of humor!

If she's looking for brands besides Lilly, a couple other lesser known brands I'd suggest are Yumi Kim and Amanda Uprichard (though at least the former tends much more towards tropical/Asian prints, which I love, but may not be the first choice for someone who really loves Lilly)

Fair... :p

iMHO, there is too much Lily in this region. Too cutesy and uniformy for me.

KR, I think she should pick out her own outfits, and maybe you can "find" photos of the PNMs going through rush at her chosen school... that way she'll have some basis for comparison. She may want one Lilly dress after that and she may even not want any! Lilly isn't really worn much here in AZ; any chance you could send her here? We have awesome winters. Just sayin'...

Sciencewoman: you'll see a LOT of tank tops and super short, tight, shorts here in August/September/October, and they will resurface as soon as it gets hot in the spring (which can be March). It's just so damned hot for so long. Not a big fan of the writing on the t-shirt (for obvious reasons, seriously; do not ask me to spell it out, okay?). But that's a look that AZ-Alpha Xi and I have seen on multiple PNMs the during August recruitment in Tucson.

Please do NOT ever mention those godawful sorority pumps ever again. Tacky doesn't even begin to touch what those are.

I'm sick of how crazy some of the girls get over this stuff currently. No offense. I've seen girls once initiated go crazy buying their lilly print on their bags, phone case (they have that now) wallet bag, and maybe even a clothing item. And really, as a guy I just don't get the look. I think other companies do better to portray the "sorority look" than Lilly. Of course I don't get that whole look either, I think girls shouldn't be forced to wear anything to fit into their sorority (and yes I've seen this happen).My good friend in her sorority didn't realize over half the group dressed in sundresses and she didn't own one.

This was the specific aspect that confounded me. I can't imagine anyone wearing that message who doesn't plan on being the subject of ridicule.

This reminds me of when people name their child "BJ".... If his name is Brad Jr., just call him Brad!

Lilly reminds me of Ugg Boots, Soffees and Vera Bradley. It's a bit of a "status symbol". When you wear it, you feel "part of the club" (or so I assume, I've never owned any Lilly).

I could never get into it. Some of the prints and dresses are cute and pretty, but it's just so...boring and samesie for me.

I prefer the more funky and artsy sorority designs and well...more creative clothes in general. Lilly is meh.

Another thing about Lilly is there are only so many styles of Lilly sundresses available. So not only is there a high probability that two or more people will be wearing the same one, but everyone immediately knows how much she paid for it.

I think peppermint is on to something with her "part of the club" statement.

I haven't been very impressed by some of the Lilly dresses posted in that other "what should I wear" thread. It seems like the winter season dresses have no shape or tailoring. I have a hard time imagining what body type would look good in them.

I don't think it's really indicative of Betsy Johnson clothing. BJ stands for Betsy Johnson and is a joke. I doubt she expects people to run out and buy this shirt.

I got that it's an abbreviation for Betsey Johnson, but the joke is lost on me. I mean, it is for sale! Yes, I guess I am officially a prude. :)

When my daughter was in 9th grade or so, she came home from a mall shopping expedition with a t-shirt that said OMG WTF in huge letters. I knew she was hoping for some sort of shocked reaction. I just said, "Congratulations. You just spent $20 on a shirt you'll never be able to wear outside the house." I think she wore that shirt 3 times...in the house.

Last year I saw a daughter, with her mom, turn up to a prospective student event at the university where I teach, wearing a shirt with the same message. I do not have faith that all young women will recognize the inappropriateness of some garments. That's where mamas should come in.

That hasn't been my experience.

I grew up wearing the stuff (in Florida!), and I even have a Lilly Pulitzer comforter set. So, you'd think I'd be annoyed with the saturation...but I haven't really seen it. I even took a read through our most recent Lyre and I saw maybe 1-2 dresses that MAY have been Lilly. AXO isn't as big in the South as DZ is so maybe that has something to do with it?

The popularity of the sorority line may have a lot to do with it.

To my above point--there are so many brightly colored sundresses out there that look enough like Lilly's.

Ultimately, it depends on where your daughter goes to school, and her individual style. Since my sorority recruitment took place in Rhode Island in February, it was no place for Lilly. BUT...if your daughter is doing a late-summer recruitment in Virginia, it may be more appropriate.

As much as I adore lilly, I think you really have to sift through a lot of 'misses' when it comes to the clothing options! Also I think it can definitely come off as a forced style if you're not used to wearing those bold patterns and just wearing it as a sorority symbol. Same goes for a lot of other designers who are making their way into the mainstream. If you wear it and it's not really your personal style, it just looks like a costume I think.

I think the sorority line is a great idea, but I wouldn't carry the big totes offered... I think I might get one of the wallets or bracelets which are more subtle :)

That's why I use my small non-LP squirrel wallet sometimes! ;)