A Cultured Pearl

Manhattan’s Most Colorful Day

Posted on April 16th, 2015

When I read that Lilly Pulitzer for Target would be having a special pop up shop in Bryant Park to kick off its collaboration collection, I could not believe my luck. I work two blocks from the park. I was amped, but I was also lucky. So for those of you who were not able to join today, I just wanted to share some fun photos! Lilly was lucky on the weather– it wasn’t quite warm, but the sun was shining all day long.

Now y’all, I had to work for my Lilly today. I wasn’t sure how long the line would be, but I knew an early arrival was necessary. Of course, I ended up having a kid-on-Christmas-morning experience, so I completely failed at the whole sleeping thing. At 4am, I was getting up and on the treadmill to blow off some steam. I was in line at Bryant Park before 6:30! I’m not great at estimating numbers, but I think I was about 50th. I passed the time with needlepointing– of course– but at 8am, I was in!

The experience wasn’t as crazy and frantic as I thought it would be, but there were some items I wanted that I couldn’t quite get to on time. Everyone was genial and polite as they fought each other to the death for the cherished size 4 and 2s. After I had grabbed my haul, I took inventory on the quality of the other items. I knew everything had been manufactured by Target, and I wasn’t as familiar with their quality. For the most part, I was really impressed! Here are some of my high level takeaways:

The cotton apparel is nice quality, but runs a bit on the small side– I sized up from the size I wear in many Lilly shifts
I wasn’t as thrilled with the quality on the non-cotton apparel, and was particularly disappointed by the shorts. So flimsy! I would never feel comfortable wearing them.
Most pleasant surprise: the white crochet tank– highly recommended!
Going into the collection, I was most excited about the home goods since Lilly’s brand offerings aren’t as diverse in that category. It lived up to the hype! Most of it seems like pretty great quality (I got the big white ceramic tray, and it’s downright heavy!).
The pillows are cute, but I wouldn’t say the fabric is luxurious. Note that this did not stop me from getting a pair
Phone cases seem like they will break in an instant!
The pom pom scarves turned out better than the ones with tassels/fringe

As fun as the shopping was, I found the whole setup at the park completely enchanting. I came back during it lunch, and loved seeing New Yorkers, dressed in head-to-toe black, lounging on these amazing beach chairs.

There was also something about watching bankers play Lilly ping pong that really put a smile on my face. If only every day in Bryant Park looked like this…