Farrell: Among Hilton Head Island's fashion set, Lilly Pulitzer is real winner of Heritage

Southern girls just know.

That's what Anne Kacmarski, manager of S.M. Bradford Co. at the Village at Wexford on Hilton Head Island, says about the unwritten rules on picking out the right Lilly Pulitzer for events like the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, which was dotted with the cheery floral patterns during round 3 of the tournament Saturday.

So that you know them, too, here are the main ones -- as near as I can figure them out, anyway. (If you didn't already know them and are currently wearing Lilly, be sure to hide behind a Heritage marshal until you know you're in the clear):

You must wear this year's patterns (or at least patterns that weren't available during last year's Heritage). Vintage is OK -- even respectable. The definition of "vintage" is three years or older, though, so there's no need to sweet talk your grandmother out of her giraffe print caftan from the 1960s.

You must check with the other girls in your friend group to make sure you're not going to show up to an event in the same dress. Wearing different cuts of the same pattern is OK, though. If Kacmarski or the sales associates at S.M. Bradford happen to know you -- and they just might, because Hilton Head's Lilly Pulitzer shoppers are loyal and frequent -- they will helpfully warn you away from any dresses your friends might already have chosen for the same event.

If you happen to run into a "twinsie" -- someone else wearing your dress -- embrace it. Maybe even Instagram the occurrence. If the other girl looks better in her dress, take a minute to Photoshop a minor but noticeable wardrobe malfunction on her dress and hashtag the #oopsy out of her. (Just kidding. Don't do that -- unless the girl also has better shoes.)

This is all to say that Lilly Pulitzer purists don't mess around. They are passionate about the brand and are on a first-name basis with it. They study the new patterns. They know what cuts work for them. They can spot a knock-off between disbelieving blinks. And they pick out their Heritage looks well before the big day.

"A lot of the younger girls do their research," Kacmarski said. "They know what they're looking for."

At the Heritage on Saturday, friends Sabine Vaughan, Ashley Walker and Chloe Thomas, all of Hilton Head, said they liked Lilly because "it's cute" and "classy."

"It just kind of goes with the South," Vaughan said.

Before Lilly Pulitzer was a beloved fashion designer, she was a socialite whose husband owned citrus groves in Florida. The legend is that Pulitzer designed a bright sleeveless shift that would mask the juice stains she got from squeezing oranges (as socialites are known to do). Customers at the juice stand loved her style, and the rest is Southern preppy history.

It's a look that is particularly popular on Hilton Head, where you can find many a girl who'd bleed pastel should you prick her arm with the end of a sorority pin.

"It's a resort area -- that's why (the brand) resonates so much here," Kacmarski said. "It's a laid-back look. It's attainable and not such an aspirational thing that girls can't afford it."

A Lilly dress can cost anywhere between $148 and $248, depending on the style. Perhaps a shocking price to some, but not so bad when it comes to popular high-end designers.

Beyond shifts, maxis and slip dresses, there are all manner of product. There are beach pants, cardigans, shorts, tanks, bathing suits, eyeglasses ... no, I can't. I'll faint if I list them all. Wait. Catch-all trays. I have to mention the catch-all trays. There are Lilly trays to catch all your Lilly accessories after your day of Lillying about town.

The most hard-core of fans, though, might be the vintage huntresses -- the ones who scour the Internet for rare prints, like You Gotta Regatta, a mostly blue pattern with pink-, green- and yellow-striped sailboat masts. It's the most sought-after retired print right now, according to Kacmarski.

"People are paying hundreds of dollars more than what it sold for."

There's an addictive aspect to Lilly, not just in the careful and measured release of new prints, but in how its wearers regard their own purchases.

On Wednesday afternoon, a woman came into S.M. Bradford to update Felicia Vairo, one of the sales associates there, on how a recent Lilly purchase fared.

"I wore my earrings last night and got compliments" she gushed, mimicking how she tucked her hair back to show off her Lillys.

"Good!," Vairo said. "Have you thought about the matching belt?"

"HEY... HEY...," the woman's husband -- heretofore quiet and blending into the spring line -- came to life and cut off any possibility of a deal, laughing as he shepherded his wife away from the jewelry counter.

Not all men are Lilly averse, though. Vairo told me a very tragic Lilly tale. She was at a thrift store on the island and lasered in on two Lilly dresses hanging on a rack. Immediately, she walked toward them, eyes wild and both arms extended like a woman possessed.

It wasn't to be.

Out of nowhere a man intercepted her and grabbed one of the dresses.

"He swooped in like an eagle," she said, laughing in disbelief.

Follow columnist and senior editor Liz Farrell at twitter.com/elizfarrell and facebook.com/elizfarrell.

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This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Farrell: Among Hilton Head Island's fashion set, Lilly Pulitzer is real winner of Heritage."