Photos from inside Lilly Pulitzer headquarters show cartoons mocking the 'fat, white, & hideous'
Getty Images
The photo shows a white surface with two drawings of overweight women, one in street clothes and one in a bikini.
"Just Another Day Of... FAT, WHITE, and HIDEOUS," one cartoon reads. "... you should probably just kill yourself..."
"Put It Down CARB FACE," reads the other photo, which shows an overweight woman frowning in a bikini.
Although The Cut included captions with fun anecdotes and facts about the company alongside many of the other photos, which were generally uplifting and showed an atmosphere of office camaraderie, this one was posted without any commentary.
This photo comes after several months of controversy surrounding Lilly Pulitzer's efforts to include plus-size women in its recent collaboration with Target.
Here is the photo of the cartoons:
"@SallyPancakes: Really disappointed in the staff at @LillyPulitzer #notcool http://t.co/eB30trXLWZ pic.twitter.com/xHD0WEbnA3" not surprised.
- MichelleRenee (@michellereneek) May 26, 2015
In January, Target announced the collaboration and tweeted that plus sizes for the Target and Lilly Pulitzer collaboration would only be available online. The backlash from the plus-size blogging community was immediate. We reached out to Lilly Pulitzer's offices today for comment on the cartoons but have not heard anything back.
@AskTarget @FatGirl_fashion @styleit It's like Target is dating a fat girl but won't take her out in public..that's how I feel right now
- grownandcurvywoman (@grownandcurvywo) January 7, 2015
Only sizes up to 14 were carried in-store, but plus sizes up to 3XL or 26W were sold online. Lilly Pulitzer and Target invited several influential plus-size bloggers were invited to the launch.
Plus-size blogger Michelle Renee told Business Insider about her reaction to the photo posted today by The Cut. She's not surprised, she said, since "fat is not what Lilly has represented."
Getty Images
When the line hit stores on April 19, though, it ended up selling out quickly despite the controversy.
But there's no denying the brand has a reputation of being exclusive. Lilly Pulitzer is a WASP wardrobe staple, and many of its customers reacted with horror at the notion that it would be sold at an affordable store like Target.
I hate when fat and trashy people where Lilly Pulitzer because you just put a shame to Lilly ??????
- Lauren Brand (@vivalalauren8) June 4, 2013
Tweets like the one above, which is written by a Lilly fan, didn't help the company's case. Lilly Pulitzer hits a slightly upscale price point, with most dresses costing about $200. The dresses released in the Lilly Pulitzer and Target collaboration were significantly less expensive, at about $40.
The Cut's slideshow seemed like an effort on the part of the brand to prove that it's not interested in excluding people based on size or income, despite the unsavory reactions of some of their fans following the Target collab.
She got so many questions about the festive garments, she started her own clothing line.
"Lilly herself was ultrainclusive," senior manager Eleni Tavantzis is quoted as saying in the slideshow. "When I talk about the wild parties that she threw, she was known for always inviting her favorite gardener, and the heiress next door in Palm Beach. Everybody was in the kitchen helping make the fruit salad, pour the Bloody Marys - everybody got their hands dirty. Everybody got to party."
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