The Queen of Prep-Chic Roars into Dallas

When we think Palm Beach, three things come to mind: The Breakers, CZ Guest poolside photographed by Slim Aarons, and socialites swathed in colorful prints invented by the queen of prep-chic, Lilly Pulitzer.

The late Mrs. Pulitzer’s brand evolved in the ’50s after she designed a patterned dress to hide the orange-juice stains often acquired while working at her Palm Beach juice stand. (Husband Peter Pulitzer owned several orange groves.) But when photographers snapped former classmate Jacqueline Kennedy wearing her shift-dress designs, she was ushered into fame.

Come August, NorthPark Center gets its own bit of Floridian elitism as Lilly Pulitzer opens its first Dallas boutique, on Level One between Nordstrom and Macy’s, packed with the full collection of clothing and accessories for ladies, gents and tots in quirky hand-painted prints.

We covet caftans, frocks and tunics patterned in Trunk in Love, which slips elephants into a paisley-style swirl, and Coconut Jungle, where a bohemian camel hides in a psychedelic garden of hot-pink flowers.