In late April, suburban women and sorority girls alike lined up at Targets across the nation in the earliest hours of the morning with their minds on a single goal: the Lilly Pulitzer for Target Collection.
Lilly Pulitzer is often hailed as the go-to collection for resort wear, as her hand-drawn, bright patterns make simple designs noticeable. Her collections rose to popularity after Jackie Kennedy, First Lady, was spotted wearing one of her classic shift dresses on vacation, and have become increasingly popular since.
Her pieces go for anywhere between $80 and $300. The wild success of the line wasn't unexpected; with rompers and playsuits, as well as outdoor decor and kitchenware on sale with Lilly flair for Target prices, it was bound to be popular.
The line, only stocked once by Target, was ransacked within minutes of doors opening. My sorority sister came home victorious with a set of Lilly mugs, while others snapped up rompers with their friends in mind, grabbing anything regardless of size or print figuring someone they knew would want it.
Target's online site went down shortly after midnight after floods of customers overloaded servers. After customers were finally able to access the site, they experienced a glitch that halted them from adding items to their carts. Chaos.
Six months later, the Lilly craze has died down. Occasionally, I will wave hello to a single set of deck lights in the clearance section at my local Target Express. I am a fan of minimalist fashion and sleeping in, so I didn't score any Lilly items. My sisters who did, however, do not regret the experience.
On a last minute pre-recruitment Target run this evening, my sisters Alex and Mary reminisced.
"Ah, remember the Lilly run?" Mary said as we approached Target's gleaming glass doors.
"Good times," replied Alex, "We emerged victorious."
This time, we emerged from Target with two different belts, two yogurt cups, and some new shampoo. The gleam and promise of discounted Lilly Pulitzer items was gone and replaced by a wall of microwaves.
"It's a miracle that we all got stuff," said Monika. "There was a woman near my mom who spent almost $2,000... I went crazy and I have no regrets."
In the wake of Lilly Pulitzer for Target, Mary is still pleased. "The instant gratification was extremely high," she said, "so much so that one would think that the long term satisfaction couldn't live up to the thrill of the purchase."
Mary is happy to report, "I am still pleased with my items."
