We Want What She's Having

By Meredith Barnett
April 26, 2011

mrs. lillien "I want what she's having" is the first thought that comes to mind when I imbibe my virtual mid-day cocktail over at the home of Mrs. Lilien. Here, where one of my favorite lifestyle blogs lives, I get a daily infusion of color, escape and over-the-top luxury—as good as (and sometimes even better than) a cool glass of limoncello, sipped poolside. Turns out that's exactly what the blog's writer, Kelley Lilien, the Mrs. behind Mrs. Lilien, wants you to think, too. Lilien says she's always dug into a larger-than-life persona when she's seeking "divine creative inspiration," and her explosive blog is a visual and inspirational fantasy for anyone stuck in a cubicle or just needing an escape.

"I always do things backwards," she told me, in reference to getting married and having children before going to school and getting her career off the ground. (She studied art in Eugene, OR and Hawaii to become a graphic designer—a profession that ultimately led, unexpectedly, to the launch of her highly addictive lifestyle blog.)

Indeed, the style blog—and the story behind it—is a delightful mix of the backwards and the surprising: Launched as a portfolio for a prop styling business, Mrs. Lilien quickly took on a life of its own (and the prop styling fell by the wayside). Its voice is totally over-the-top ("I live for the exceptionally eccentric pieces that are riddled with pomp—the ones that beg for attention and that are easy to flaunt," reads a recent post), yet its writer is logo decidedly private—an unusual case in today's bare-it-all blogosphere. And the blog is bursting with luxurious products that manage to simultaneously attract an aspirational customer like myself (and, as it turns out, its author) as well as readers that truly do live in the upper echelon—"I never curate on a budget," says Lilien, who recently got a totally serious inquiry from a reader on what to wear to the upcoming royal wedding.

Read on for my chat with top blogger Kelley Lilien, who, as I learned, does not actually speak in rhyme, but is as lovely and bright as a browse through her style blog would have you hoping she'd be.

Mrs. Lilien, a Snapshot

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Mrs. Monday: A highlight of Mrs. Lilien is the beautiful collages themed according to color palettes. Since blogger Kelley Lilien's favorite color is yellow, it's no surprise that the sunshine shade makes frequent appearances on her site.
Wondrous + Woodsy: Mrs. Lilien is rife with over-the-top language. This post reads: "I live for the exceptionally eccentric pieces that are riddled with pomp-the ones that beg for attention and that are easy to flaunt."
Plum Crazy
The Royal Wedding: The "Ask Mrs. Lilien" series features the Mrs.' responses to questions of etiquette and decorum. This one is a response to a real inquiry from a reader about what to wear to the royal wedding.
Mrs. Glamingo
Bahama Mama: : Plenty of posts have Mrs. Lilien and her readers imagining glamorous vacations-like this one to the Bahamas.

The Inside Source: You originally created Mrs. Lilien as a vehicle for what you hoped would become a prop styling business. How did the lifestyle blog grow out of that?

Kelley Lilien: I had never set out to be a blogger. But I do know just from being a graphic designer that you can't launch a website without a really fun portfolio that's dynamic and engaging. And so I thought, well, obviously it's going to take some time to build my styling portfolio, so in the meantime, I'll start a blog. I started blogging while I was doing photo shoots so I could get something up there for my prop styling, and the blog really took off. And I had no idea that was going to happen. It was never my intention. But I could not have asked for a better outcome.

The Inside Source: You mentioned that your lifestyle blog just exploded. There are a million people out there who are trying so hard to get readers to their blogs. How did it happen?

Kelley Lilien: I have no idea. I can credit my friend, Joy Cho [Cho, the blogger behind Oh Joy!]. She did put me on her sidebar... But I don't put myself out there. I basically do it for myself. I have so much fun doing it, and I realize through the growth of my readership that you can influence people and motivate and inspire people. I do love that part of it.

April Showers

The Inside Source: What do you think drew people to the Mrs. Lillien style blog and how is that different than what else is out there?

Kelley Lilien: People are so attracted to it because it lives in eternal optimism. It's like a happy, visually explosive utopia. And that's me. Of course, I have my days when I'm not totally thrilled. Everybody does. But for the most part, I'm a really happy person—not in a way that you would want to punch me in the face, but I'm consistently optimistic. The blog is a destination where people can go. It's an aspirational dreamland. I never curate on a budget. It's, "Wouldn't it be great if your life could look like this today? Wouldn't it be great if you could put this on and be here today?" I love that... And I always think in rhyme...

The Inside Source: That's another question. When we were planning this interview, I wondered if you would speak in this poetic, over the top way.

Kelley Lilien: It's this weird Dr. Seuss-ian obsession. I have always loved things that rhyme. I live for alliteration... I live on Thesaurus.com. If I learn a new word and it's so juicy, I feel like I've been given this amazing little treasure.

The Inside Source: You've mentioned how your style blog is an escape for people, and there are lots of posts about dreamy vacations. You also often feature products framed around specific color palettes. What's the appeal and the attraction?

Kelley Lilien: I love it when I look at something on screen and it almost makes my eyes vibrate. When something's done that to me, I want to find 8 million other things that do that in the same hue. And when you see a grouping of things like that, that is visually exciting to me—when your eyes feel like they're on a roller coaster. I'm not a big fan of neutrals and pales. I love the stuff that slaps you across the face.

Aqua Accost

The Inside Source: Tell me a little bit about the ask Mrs. Lillien series.

Kelley Lilien: I love answering questions and knowing what a "Mrs." would do. I'd say I get about 20 questions per week. One of them almost blew me off my feet. This lady asked, "What would you suggest the Mrs. wear to a royal wedding?" I emailed her back and I said, "Please tell me this is true!" And she said, "It is, and I'm going and I'm so excited." It was totally real. And I answered it.

The Inside Source: What's makes your style blog different from a lot of other popular blogs is that you don't write about your personal life...

Kelley Lilien: My mother always said you always have to keep at least 10 percent of yourself a secret. Anytime you can create a kind of mystery, that is more attraction. It's good to always keep a percentage of yourself a secret.

The Inside Source: We've been doing a series on The Inside Source about the husbands of influential bloggers who work with them on their sites. So I have to know about the Mr...

Kelley Lilien: There always has to be a Mr. behind the Mrs! You can't be a Mrs. unless you have one. He is spectacular. We've been together for a long time and I can't imagine my life without him.

The Inside Source: Ok. Fill in the blanks. My favorite color is...

Kelley Lillien: I love yellow. Like lemon peel yellow. Like crazy sunshine yellow. Not butter yellow. Oh no, now that's a really bad shade. But like punchy, vibrant yellow.

Mrs. Melon

The Inside Source: The items that I am coveting most right now are...

Kelley Lilien: A just drop dead vintage gorgeous Halston caftan gown and enormous canary diamond earrings that would make my earlobes tear.

The Inside Source: The three sources that I end up turning to the most for my style blog are...

Kelley Lilien: Net-a-Porter, 1st Dibs and Barneys—I feature a lot of their beauty products.

The Inside Source: If I could escape to anywhere on a private jet, I would take the Mr. and head to...

Kelley Lilien: I would go to Morocco because something I've dreamed of my entire life is to ride a camel through the desert in an awesome pair of sunglasses and a gorgeous caftan. It's a must do before I die.

The Inside Source: And finally, you ever shop on eBay onine auctions?

Kelley Lllien: I look there all the time. I buy stuff on there a lot. I've bought barware. I know what I bought that was so fantastic—a set of aluminum Christmas trees with pom poms at the end! They are so old and so great. I think that while 1st Dibs and other sites are super amazing for vintage finds, everything on them is super expensive. eBay is a little bit more of an attainable destination for vintage finds and eclectic selections. There are some super collections of very rare cocktail swizzle sticks that had me drooling recently. You wouldn't find that anywhere else. That's why eBay rocks. It's limited to nothing and I love that part about it.

With spring weather on her mind, the lovely Mrs. Lillien perused eBay for everything she'd need for some outdoor entertaining on the patio.

Roll over items for details

Vintage Brass & Glass Bar Cart

(buy it now price, $3,400)

Dorothy Thorpe 16 Piece Set Roly Poly Highball Drink Glasses

Vintage Glass Tumblers

Vintage Austrian Crystal Clip-On Earrings

Vintage Maribou House Slippers

(buy it now price, $44.89)

Vintage Patio Hanging Lamp

(current bid, $24)

Pink Plastic Flamingos

(buy it now price, $14.99)

Vintage '70s Caftan

(buy it now price, $49.99)

Vintage Florida Motel Postcard

(buy it now price, $7.25)

Eames Mid-Century Glider and Two Chairs

(starting bid, $275)

Eames Mid-Century Glider Sofa

(starting bid, $125)

1. Vintage Brass & Glass Bar Cart: "A glamorous bar cart that's great for both inside and outside, thanks to its handy wheels!"

2. Vintage Dorothy Thorpe Roly Poly Silver Fade Glasses: "Hands down the best period barware. These Dorothy Draper rocks glasses..."

3. Vintage Glass Tumblers: "... and these polka dot highballs complement both ladies and gentlemen's cocktails with effortless style."

4. Vintage Austrian Crystal Clip-On Earrings: "Big bold stunners that work with everything and would be the crowning jewel to any bauble collection!"

5. Vintage Maribou House Slippers: "The ultimate house slipper—a quintessential 'Mrs.' item not to be overlooked!"

6. Vintage Patio Hanging Lamp: "A charming patio addition that's spilling over with hot vintage flare."

7. Pink Plastic Flamingos: "The only ornament that's worthy of gracing my lawn, and proudly so!"

8. Vintage '70s Caftan: "The ideal patio gown, fit for the high caliber hostess!"

9. Vintage Florida Motel Postcard: "The perfect scene with which to inspire the ultimate pool party."