So lets get a few things straight, whether you follow ThePreppyMAG or Refinery29, or you are one of my BFFs who texted me yesterday afternoon you probably know what this is about. Since there has been some misconceived response and outrage over what was tweeted the other night, I feel a response is necessary. The tweet in question is the below:
Now, most responses that were received were not in good nature, example below:
Now, a lot of responses talked about how Lilly should be for everyone and I wholeheartedly agree with that. Lilly would want everyone to wear and experience her prints. As she once said, “These clothes make people happy. You feel happy wearing bright colors. It makes you smile. Who doesn’t want to smile a little bit more these days?” Everyone does, Lilly, everyone does.
What I do have an issue with is that this partnership with Target is a very out-of-brand decision (in my opinion) based on what we’ve seen in the past. The “Queen of Southern Prep” partnering with a mainstream retail brand is something I never saw coming. There’s nothing Lilly-esce about going to Target, and it makes you wonder whether or not Lilly Pulitzer can maintain the current look and feel that they have now, which people like us love.
The Lilly experience will be lost. There was always something special about walking into a Lilly store, or even a signature shop carrying their clothing. Signature shops like In the Pink, Palm Place, Bergdorf Goodman, The Island etc. are all preppy and classy small-boutiques. When you walk in you’re surrounded by bright colors and thoughts of sipping a margarita on the sands of Palm Beach. You are greeted by lovely saleswomen who remember you time after time, and ask how you are, how college is, and congratulate you on your graduation because they have watched you grow since you shopped there with your mother.
When you walk into Target you’re surrounded by, not bright colors or even clothing for that matter, but food items, everyday utilities and the red and white colors that depict the Target brand. These two companies only have one thing in common, the fact that I love them both. However that love is mutually exclusive.
I probably spend most of my wallet at both Target and Lilly, and that is something I am totally okay with. However, we must realize what this may do for small businesses. After starting at a juice stand, Lilly Pulitzer formally started at a small boutique on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. An avenue that has now been taken over by huge public companies. However, that boutique still remains, privately held as a signature shop for the Lilly Pulitzer company. In 2013 I hosted a Lilly event for sorority girls at in the pink, a privately held Lilly signature shop in New England. In the pink brought the southern based company to New England. Ever notice there are no corporate stores above Greenwich?
To clear up my tweet, I’m not mad that more people will now have access to Lilly’s style – I embrace that, just as she would. I only question the branding decision made, as the experience of walking into Target to purchase a Lilly dress is never how it was supposed to be. Call me a brat, but where something is sold does make a difference.
While you are entitled to your opinion, this blog (in my opinion) reads grossly offensive and prejudiced. I feel like in, not so many words, you are insinuating that Target’s audience is not up-to-par or worthy of the “Lilly” brand. The experiences you write of as the “typical Lilly customer’s experience” are incredibly distinct to a wealthy upper middle class shopper. When you write that the shopping experience is accompanied by notions of “sipping margaritas” and being recognized through generations, you are subconsciously creating a very “us” versus “them” dichotomy. I know you wrote this blog post as an attempt to make amends for a poorly received tweet, but you ended up sounding even more narrow-minded and arrogant.
Thank you for your thoughts and I’m sorry that you feel that way. However, you know very little about me.
Well said! I agree!
Thank you, Brandon!
I completely agree with this. I don’t know if it was in Lilly Pulitzers best interest for their brand to do a line with Target. I see how this makes their brand more accessible, but I think there’s plenty of other ways for them to do it. It kind of takes away from the magic of owning a lilly piece and the experience you have when you buy it.
Thank you for your support, Katharine!
I love Lilly, always have! And I’m a girl from the great white North: Canada. I’ve never walked into a Southern store or imagined myself sipping margaritas while wearing her beautiful bright colours. But clearly that is the sentiment it evokes for you, personally. Which is awesome. However, Lilly might evoke other sentiments and fashion expression for others. It would be a shame to put a brand in a locked down niche, for a locked down demographic – and I think that is the whole point of Lilly’s collaboration with Target – to connect with NEW fashion lovers.
Fashion lovers that will react to spotting such beautiful, bright colorful styles in the middle of the grocery aisle and everyday utilities. Because after all, most of the world lives within the reality of groceries and everyday utilities! In my opinion, collaborating with Target isn’t an expansion for the brand, nor is it a bad move – it’s simple a chance for someone with a smaller budget (when you have a family of 5 and you’re shopping for groceries, an affordable yet equally gorgeous piece of clothing that fits your budget is just about the greatest thing ever) to experience the joy, frivolity, and happy designs that Lilly herself originated at the corner of a beach!
Yes, you may not be greeted by a sales person that remembers your whole family history – but as an independent women that knows how to rock her style, you really don’t need a big fake smile and dollar signs floating over a sales person’s head while you shop to enjoy the product!!
“The Lilly Pulitzer for Target collection marks a new chapter for our brand, and we’re excited to give Lilly fans everywhere, including those who have loved the brand for years and those who will get to know it for the first time through this collaboration, a chance to experience this incredibly chic lifestyle collection, said Jane Schoenborn, vice president/creative communications at Lilly Pulitzer, in a press release.
I say, Lilly for all!
Thank you for your thoughts, Emily!
good for Target – I’ve always admired Lilly’s style – and now it’s gonna be where EVERYBODY can have access to it… 😀
Excited to have more Lilly lovers in the world!
I am glad I can finally have some Lilly gear. I can’t afford Lilly normally, and would rather spend 200$ on food or clothes my daughter needs than on ONE dress.
Can’t wait for you to join the lovely world of Lilly, Nicole!
As someone who goes to school for the business behind fashion, I’ll ignore your closed minded, bratty attitude and address what you would like to have all of these comments address…your opinion on whether or not having a line with Target cheapens the Lilly brand. Have you ever heard of Alexander Wang for H&M? Essentially what you are saying here is that brands that have collaborated with “cheaper” stores like Target, H&M, ect are now not what they once were. If you had some background knowledge, you would know that these partnerships actually do the brand justice. It widens the spectrum of people who buy into the Lilly brand, and the look that comes along with it. When the partnership with Target is over, these new customers may be committed to the brand and save their money to be able to purchase “real Lilly”. All in all, this partnership will bring Lilly to places the brand hasn’t been before, and this only creates a larger customer base.
Thank you for your thoughts! I actually don’t go to school for business behind fashion, I work full-time in marketing and these are personal thoughts on the branding decisions.
To clarify, kia18 is the one studying business. And I think Missoni survived after their Target collaboration that crashed Target’s website and sold out in a few days.
Democracy…Jackie would have liked that. Target is good enough for the nation’s current First Lady and I’m sure John John would be photographed shopping there if he were still alive.
Thank you for clearing up your tweet. I understand your point from here. I do think, however, that people are forgetting that this is a one time collection. They aren’t gouing to close all of the Lilly boutiques and start selling at Target, they are going to sell these 250 items, and then the collection is gone. They are basically limited edition, and won’t endanger the brand at all.
Completely agree! Can’t wait to see what Lilly has in store for us!
There’s no justifying that tweet. Classism is classism. Why should the location and environment matter to those who {more than likely} won’t purchase it from Target anyway? You can still go to your boutique and be greeted by upperclass saleswomen who watched you grow up. More than likely, you won’t see a “Target-class” citizen wearing the exact same piece as the “real Lilly-class” citizens because the line for Target is exclusive to Target. 🙂 No worries. #FirstWorldProblems
Lilly in Target is not on target with her vision of Lilly’s renowned exclusive sale of her clothing and accessories in classy, small boutiques. There is a TIME and PLACE for everything! The TIME is now of essence to put a stop to the “out of the scope of her TIMEless vision” and not to move forward with the PLACEment of Lilly’s very own at a PLACE so off “target” with the branding decisions she wholeheartedly embraced. There’s a time and place to everything. I applaud you, Ms. Goldstein, for questioning this branding decision. Lilly’s surely looking down from heaven thanking you for standing by her tradition and vision that she always embraced!
Thank you so much for your support!
I never actually thought of it this way but you’re right! It’s like Louis Vuitton doing a collection for Target. The audience is completely different. It is trendy these days for designer brands to do cheaper versions for places like Target but it could also ruin their image. Very interesting post and I’m glad you brought it up! On a side note: I’m obsessed with that dress you’re wearing! 🙂
-Ruya
sweetshortandstylish.com
Thank you Ruya! I appreciate your support!
Do you still feel this way? Has the Lilly brand cheapened?