In 1960, Lilly Pulitzer started designing her famous colorful dresses in order to disguise the juice stains she would acquire while processing oranges from her then-husband's orange groves in Palm Beach, Florida. She gained national exposure after former classmate Jackie Kennedy was photographed wearing one of her dresses and achieved great success until retiring and closing down operations in 1984. The brand was later revived in 1993 when Pulitzer sold the rights to Sugartown Worldwide, which was acquired in 2010 by Oxford Industries. Lilly Pulitzer died in 2013 at the age of 81.

"I designed collections around whatever struck my fancy ... fruits, vegetables, politics or peacocks."