how to shop the lilly pulitzer after the party sale for your mini me

I’ve been looking forward to Lilly Pulitzer’s After Party Sale all summer long — plotting which finds would make the cut for me this September. This was my first APS and have to say it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be and managed to score a few fun adds to my wardrobe. 

I found myself with an interesting conundrum this morning. I’ve loved having a few pieces to match with our Baby Girl, so wanted to grab at least something for us during the sale. But how could I start to guess what size to buy her? Sharing the below in case it’s helpful for you, too!

An important pre-strep is seeing what options exist in toddler sizes. There’s a subset of prints there so that’s your baseline. You can then search on that print to see what happens to exist in your size as well. I lucked out and backed into things that matched but this is a good way to start seeing what could work for you both. 

First, take a look at the Lilly sizing chart. It’s different from what I’m accustomed to. Our little one is still in baby sizes, just a few away from toddler ones. Lilly doesn’t have typical 2T+ options so start with reviewing the below. Like for adults, some toddler pieces use the numerical sizes and some use XS/S/etc. 

Second, review the below handy dandy growth table I found via the CDC. It’s more likely this will be a good estimate if your child has followed a pretty consistent percentile along their growth curve. My dilemma was how big would an 18 month be next summertime if she’s oh say the 99th+ percentile? I took a guess and erred on the more generous size. 

Finally, realize it’s not a perfect science. Make the best guestimate, click purchase and cross your fingers. And know in the event that you’re wrong, you’ll more than likely easily be able to resell the wrong size on the various Lilly Facebook groups or on my fave, Poshmark. Good luck!