Lilly's story began in the 1950s when her desire for love and adventure prompted a move to Palm Beach, Florida.

She immediately embraced a bohemian, barefoot lifestyle filled with lots of friends and endless parties. Sounds fabulous, right? It turns out life wasn't always as sunny as it seemed, so she sought help and the doctor's orders were quite surprising. Lilly was told she needed a renewed sense of purpose. That's when our spirited founder took a fortuitous leap and literally turned lemons into lemonade by starting a juice stand to occupy her time.

Soon the stand was thriving, but she stained her clothes (occupational hazard), which led to the need for a uniform. The young entrepreneur worked with a dressmaker to create a colorful (hide the citrus splashes) easy dress, and the first Shift Dress was born.

The more fun Lilly had mixing vibrant prints with her dresses, the more they were coveted by the famed and fabulous around Palm Beach. Flying just a little farther south, she discovered the perfect source of wonderfully whimsical prints: Key West Hand Print Fabrics, the studio that would become a treasured brand partner from 1962 to 1985.

When Lilly's former school chum, Jackie Kennedy, came to town, she also donned the local uniform: casual, comfortable, chic, and pulled together. Jackie was regarded as one of the most stylish women in the world and when she appeared in a Lilly on the cover of Life Magazine, Lilly herself mused, ”It just took off like ZINGO."

The citrus business was swapped for a clothing business. This marked the beginning of American Resort Wear, turning our favorite trailblazer into a fashion icon and her trademark Shift Dress into a wardrobe classic. Six decades later, the ZEST is yet to come as we carry on the timeless tradition of making women feel as good as they look. The Lilly woman isn't sitting on the sidelines waiting for fate to determine her future. She never stops squeezing the juice out of life just because it gets a little messy. She creates her own sunshine.

With its simply sophisticated shape that hangs straight down from the shoulders, the Shift Dress effortlessly combines comfort and elegance. Each season, we find new ways to wear the silhouette that came to life so many years ago in Lilly’s juice stand. "We have reinvented the Shift over the years with hints of stretch, in various fabrications, and offer Shifts for every occasion,” says Mira Fain, Chief Creative Officer.

At our hometown store on Worth Avenue, you can reinvent this Lilly icon once again. Visit our Custom Shift Shop to design your one-of-a-kind look, with exclusive Vintage Vault prints only available in Palm Beach.

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Honoring more than 65 years of creating sunshine through art, we’re delighted to announce the grand return of our print archive! Lilly ’s Vintage Vault is an ongoing celebration of the print, color, and authentic artistry that have defined our brand since its earliest days. The Vintage Vault collection includes hand-painted prints first introduced between 1962 and 1985, newly paired with iconic silhouettes and unexpected styles for a sense of modern nostalgia. True American treasures, these prints forge a connection between our spirited past and a future that’s brighter than ever.

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