I was first exposed to Lilly Pulitzer designs in college. At the time, I disliked the brand – I associated it with the seemingly cult-ish
sorority life on campus, of which I was decidedly not a part. Not that I had (or have) anything against it. I went to a few open houses, and looking back, I think I probably would have enjoyed it. But after 4 years at the all-girls’ prep school that inspired the movie Mean Girls, I just couldn’t get fully on board.

Then, I moved to the charming beaches of the southern corner of North Carolina. I found myself meandering into a signature Lilly Pulitzer boutique called “Palm Garden” one lazy summer afternoon, and truth be told – I was hooked. The bright colors and playful designs sucked me in, and I couldn’t escape the pure happiness of its message and the sunny charm of its origin. Before I knew it, I was trying on one of the signature shift dresses, and was delighted by how well they fit me. The only downside was the price… but let’s not talk about that. 😛

When I learned we were moving to Japan, I figured my Lilly wear was the one brand that would seamlessly transfer into the cutesy, colorful, tropical culture of Okinawa. Of course, most of it is still packed away, so I have yet to rock my Lilly dresses, shorts, and tops, but I did walk into yesterday’s nail salon with my latest (and most useful) accessory, the Charlotte Wristlet and Phone Case.

Now, the ladies in Cocok spoke minimal English, but before long, they were all squealing over my happy little wristlet and exclaiming “Lee-lee-PULL-itzer” to each other across the salon. Through a combination of facial expressions, a few basic English words, and hand gestures, I managed to explain that it is only sold in America at this time, but they have a website! It wasn’t until I left – after I wrote down the URL for them to pass around – that I remembered Lilly doesn’t ship internationally. D’oh!!!

As for me, I am keeping my fingers crossed that APO addresses are an exception, and I can still get my Lilly fix. If they are, maybe I should mass order and open a little franchise here in Oki. I had a feeling it would fit right in!