I don't usually do blog posts on Sundays, but the Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale is definitely a worthwhile reason to do one! 😉This weekend is the in-store preview event for the sale, and I was lucky to be the first person in line at the Charlottesville store to shop it yesterday morning!! Today I'll be sharing all the items I tried on and their sizing information, general thoughts on the in-store preview, and what I'm hoping to purchase in the online sale. I was so excited that the in-store preview fell on my birthday weekend this year!
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For the past few After Party Sales, Lilly has offered in-store preview days to shop selected sale items early on the Saturday and Sunday before (the After Party Sales normally begin on Monday morning online). Last September was my first time taking advantage of the in-store preview! I had a busy day on the Saturday that it opened, and I wasn't able to stop by my local store until Sunday after church. Things were definitely picked over, but I still purchased a few things and there was a lot to try-on! This time it was different since I was one of the first to shop. While the Charlottesville store had a better selection of dresses than I expected, they seemed to have smaller amounts of other things this year (like Luxletic athleisure pieces and accessories). Below is a photo of the main clothing racks just before the huge swarm of Lilly lovers descended in!
Here are the items and their sizing that I tried on in this year's sale! Unintentionally, I found myself sticking with Lilly styles and prints that are very "classic" Lilly (as opposed to some of their more modern or edgy pieces which don't have that classic Palm Beach prep look!).
A note on sizing for myself: I've gained a little bit of weight since last year's September APS and have gone from being a 2-4 in most clothing to a 4-6! I'm 5'7, and my chest is a 34C. Some of Lilly's styles (like the Margot dress) I still fit into the smaller sizes that I wore last year and before, and other styles (like shift dresses) I need to buy larger sizes in now!
*Jessie Romper in Summer Remix Patch - orig. $158, APS $74 I LOVE the Summer Remix Patch print and was so excited to see that my store had several items in it included in the in-store preview event! I loved this romper on the hanger but didn't like it on. I thought it wasn't flattering in the stomach area, and I was in between sizes. The 4 was too tight and the 6 was too loose. Sadly had to pass on this!
*Alexa Shift in Summer Remix Patch - orig. $198, APS $99
Another beautiful dress in this stunning print! I really liked this dress, a lot better than the romper in the same print! Unfortunately the 4 was a bit too snug in my chest area, and someone else snagged the size 6 that the Charlottesville store had.
*UPF 50+Nadine Dress in Sink or Swim - orig. $178, APS $89.
This dress is so cute and colorful! I live in similar Lilly styles like this for work in the summer months. Since this dress is UPF 50+, it's made of a special smooth and cooling material and felt really good on. I wore size S! Why didn't I get it? I didn't think the price was low enough! I typically try to only buy Lilly pieces that are $75 and under during the APS, and I thought $89 was a bit too high for this one still.
*Kelly pants in What a Lovely Place - orig. $148, APS $52.
A new pair of Kelly pants is one item that I was specifically looking for during this APS! My local store didn't get a ton of prints in for the in-store preview for pants, so when I saw this pair in size 6 I didn't waste anytime in grabbing them. They fit perfectly and I love the Kelly pants in general, but I didn't love this print in pant form. I'm hoping to find them in other patterns online tomorrow!
*UPF 50+ Skipper Popover in Sink or Swim - orig. $98, APS $69.
The Skipper Popover is an iconic Lilly style... and amazingly I've never owned one! I'm wearing the one pictured in a size S and it fit perfectly, and I thought it was very comfortable and cute. Why didn't I get it? 1.) I didn't think the discount on it was that great with the APS pricing compared to the markdowns on some other items. 2.) I don't wear sweatshirts or pullovers a lot (more of a cardigan and blazer girl), and when I do I usually reach for comfy tourist sweatshirts that I am addicted to buying when I travel, haha! Maybe I'll finally get a Popover in another sale, but not this time.
*Franci Dress in Hot on the Scene - orig. $198, APS $59
What a fantastic deal on this gorgeous dress!! I loved this beautiful print, and the flattering style of the dress! Similarly though to the Alexa shift that I tried on earlier in this post, the 4 was a little too small on me, and the size 6 was already gone. I might look for this one in a size 6 online!
*Margot Dress in Sink or Swim - orig. $108, APS $59
First things first, this dress runs large! I wear an XS in this dress and it fits me perfectly. I already own a Margot dress from last year- which you can see styled in this blog post! This is a fun and flattering casual style that can also work as a beach cover-up.
*Marli Stretch Shift in In the Beginning - orig. $198, APS $84.
This darling print pays homage to the beginnings of the Lilly Pulitzer company- back when Lilly herself ran a Florida juice stand! I'm wearing a size 4, and it fit snuggly but it did fit. This dress is a bit thicker and more lined than some of the other shift styles, but it felt very comfortable to wear. I almost got this one!
Picture above are all the things that didn't come home with me- here's what actually did!
*Mila Stretch Shift in Sink or Swim - orig. $188, APS $74 One of my top items on my wishlist for this APS was a new classic Lilly shift, and this one fit the bill perfectly! I had to consign one of my other favorite shifts earlier this summer that was a size 2 and didn't fit anymore, so I wanted a new dress to replace it. I'm wearing a size 6 here and it's a tad big (I'm between a 4 and 6 in most shifts I think), but I would rather have a dress like this a little loose than too tight. I love the Sink or Swim pattern and thought it was perfect for this style dress especially! Although this is definitely a summer dress, I might still pack it for a warm weather trip I'm going on in a couple weeks.
And the other item I bought I forgot to take a picture of! I bought the Run Around baseball hat also in the Sink or Swim print! My store only had one hat for the APS this year, and I was so excited to be the one to score it! I'm not sure I'll wear it together with my new dress, but maybe sometimes since they do match!
What were my overall thoughts on the APS in-store preview this year? I thought overall things ran very smoothly and shoppers were respectful of each other. The staff was great as well in helping to control the chaos (there were probably 50-60 shoppers at one point while I was still there!). While I thought there was a great dress, romper and short selection, other things were few and far between, like Luxletic, Elsa tops, pants and sweaters. There were also a lot less accessories this year in-store than last year. Three prints that my store seemed to have an abundance of items in were Sink or Swim (which I ended up purchasing), What a Lovely Place and Summer Remix Patch. If you've never done the APS preview in-store before, I definitely recommend still stopping by your local Lilly store today or planning to do it for the next sale in the winter- it's still a fun experience to try shopping in-store for it, and I love supporting local Lilly stores.
The items that I was open to buying in this APS were shift dresses, sweaters or fall/winter Lilly items, Kelly pants, and Luxletic tops and sports bras. Things I didn't need to purchase at this time were shorts, Elsa tops and rompers. Having a clear idea in my head of what I was looking for definitely helped me narrow down what I tried on! I'll definitely be shopping the online sale tomorrow, but if I don't find anything I'm still very happy with what I did get in-store yesterday.
The After Party Sale opens for everyone on Monday September 9th, at 8am EST! It means the world to me if you'll be shopping through one of the affiliate links in this blog post- each sale I make through affiliate links helps my blog to grow. I also have a special collab post with my friend Gentry of Girl Meets Bow that I can't wait to share!
9/9 EDIT: SALE NOW OPEN! Shop my picks:
DRESSES
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TOPS
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LUXLETIC
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Good luck tomorrow!! Please let me know if you have additional APS questions!
God Bless,
xoxo Annaliese #Bargains #Preppy #LillyPulitzer #Fashion #SummerFashion
