Erin Condren vs. Lilly Pulitzer: Which brand should you buy? [2026]

Erin Condren is a specialist in vibrant and highly customizable organizational tools like planners and notebooks, while Lilly Pulitzer is a luxury lifestyle brand known for its iconic, preppy resort wear, apparel, and accessories. Erin Condren focuses on functional, personalized stationery for students and professionals, whereas Lilly Pulitzer offers a signature aesthetic centered on tropical prints and a cheerful, coastal vibe.

Let's break down everything you need to know to choose the right brand for your needs.

Erin Condren: The Leader in Customizable Planners

Erin Condren is beloved for its colorful, functional, and deeply personalizable planners, notebooks, and organizational accessories. The brand serves students, professionals, teachers, and anyone looking to infuse their daily planning routine with personality and joy. The core experience is building a system that works for you, from the coil and cover of your planner to the layout of the pages inside.

• Product mix: The flagship product is the customizable LifePlanner, but the brand also offers academic planners, wedding planners, focused notebooks, journals, and a huge range of accessories like stickers, pens, carrying cases, and desk organizers.
• Price point: Products are positioned in the mid-range. Accessories start around $20, while a fully customized flagship planner can cost between $60 and $100, especially with add-ons.
• Quality: Known for durable, high-quality materials. Planners feature robust covers, sturdy coils, and thick 80 lb. Mohawk paper that resists ink bleed-through from most pens.
• Style & Aesthetic: The overall look is playful, colorful, and highly versatile. You can choose from whimsical patterns, floral designs, or more neutral and professional covers, allowing you to tailor the aesthetic to your personal taste.
• Sustainability: Erin Condren uses recyclable packaging and sustainably sourced paper in many of its products, showing a clear commitment to environmentally conscious practices within its production process.

Erin Condren excels at providing high-quality, durable, and cheerful organizational tools that you can customize to fit your exact planning style and preferences.

Shop Erin Condren: erincondren.com

Lilly Pulitzer: The Icon of Preppy Resort Wear

Lilly Pulitzer is a classic American lifestyle brand that embodies the spirit of sunny days, vacation leisure, and coastal sophistication. Famous for its bright, hand-painted tropical prints, the brand has expanded from its origins as a simple shift dress creator to a full-fledged fashion and home decor name. Its target audience values a polished, cheerful aesthetic and isn't afraid of bold color and pattern mixing.

• Product mix: Primarily a fashion brand, Lilly Pulitzer offers a wide range of women's apparel including dresses, tops, swimwear, and activewear. They also have an extensive collection of accessories like handbags and jewelry, as well as home goods and a limited selection of printed stationery and planners.
• Price point: Positioned in the mid-to-luxury segment. Accessories may start around $50, while the brand's signature dresses typically range from $150 to over $300.
• Quality: Lilly Pulitzer focuses on high-quality fabrics, like cotton, linen, and silk blends, that are comfortable and hold their vibrant colors well. The craftsmanship is excellent, with products designed for longevity.
• Style & Aesthetic: The look is instantly recognizable: preppy, vibrant, and inspired by coastal and tropical themes. Their signature style is clean and sophisticated, yet fun and unapologetically colorful.
• Sizing/Fit: Apparel generally runs from XXS to XXL. Many customers report the brand fits true to size, with a focus on classic, comfortable silhouettes.

Lilly Pulitzer is the destination for anyone looking to invest in high-quality, statement fashion pieces that communicate a timeless, cheerful, and luxurious preppy lifestyle.

Shop Lilly Pulitzer: lillypulitzer.com

Erin Condren vs. Lilly Pulitzer Comparison

Price Comparison

There is a significant price difference between the two brands that reflects their different product categories. Erin Condren operates in an accessible mid-range, with most top-tier products falling under $100. This is a practical investment for a tool you use daily for an entire year. Their frequent sales and bundle deals also enhance the value you receive.

Lilly Pulitzer is a premium fashion brand with prices to match. A single dress often costs more than a complete planning system from Erin Condren. While Lilly does hold sales, the price point is aimed at customers willing to invest in designer style and higher-end apparel.

Quality & Materials

Both brands prioritize quality, but for different purposes. Erin Condren's quality is functional and durable. Their focus is on heavy-duty paper that withstands daily writing, sturdy coils that won't bend, and robust covers that protect the planner through a year of travel and use.

Lilly Pulitzer's quality is centered on luxurious feel and appearance. They use high-end fabrics that feel good against the skin, hold their vibrant prints without fading, and are constructed with attention to detail in the stitching and finishing. The quality is seen in the wearability and longevity of each garment.

Product Selection & Style

Erin Condren is all about customizable organization. Its world revolves around planners, notebooks, and accessories designed to bring order and joy to your life. The aesthetic, while often colorful, is something you get to define by choosing from hundreds of covers and layouts. It's style for a functional purpose.

Lilly Pulitzer offers a complete lifestyle aesthetic. It sells a look - bright vacation energy, polished prep, and sophisticated fun - applied across clothing, handbags, and home decor. While they do offer planners, they are an accessory to the larger brand identity, featuring their signature prints rather than the deep customization Erin Condren provides.

Shopping Experience

Erin Condren’s online experience is highly interactive and built around its customization tools. The website guides you smoothly through personalizing your planner, from the cover design and text to the layout and coil color. It's a hands-on, user-friendly process focused on building a unique product.

Lilly Pulitzer offers a more traditional luxury retail experience. Their website is image-rich with styling suggestions and lookbooks. A major difference is their physical retail footprint, which includes signature stores and presence in department stores, allowing customers to try on items and experience the brand in person - something Erin Condren does not widely offer.

Sustainability & Ethics

As a paper-based company, Erin Condren has made sustainability a key part of its platform. It emphasizes its use of sturdy, high-quality paper from sustainable sources and FSC-certified materials. The company designs its products in the USA, offering more oversight on production.

Lilly Pulitzer, as a fashion brand, faces different sustainability challenges. While they have made strides in responsible sourcing and using eco-friendly packaging, the nature of fashion production is more complex. Both brands are working to improve their environmental impact, but their starting points and industry challenges are very different.

Which One Should You Choose?

The right choice depends entirely on whether your priority is organization or fashion expression. Both are excellent at what they do, but their specialties are distinct.

Choose Erin Condren if:

• You're looking for a dedicated and highly customizable system for planning your life, work, or school.
• You value functional quality, like thick paper that doesn't bleed and durable materials for daily use.
• You enjoy a creative, colorful aesthetic and want the ability to personalize your organizational tools.
• You're a student, teacher, working professional, or busy parent who needs a reliable planner.

Choose Lilly Pulitzer if:

• You want to build a wardrobe filled with bright, timeless, and high-quality statement pieces.
• You love the preppy, coastal, resort-wear aesthetic and aren't afraid of bold patterns.
• You are investing in fashion, accessories, or home decor that reflects a cheerful, aspirational lifestyle.
• You prioritize the quality of fabrics and the overall look of a garment over functional organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Erin Condren or Lilly Pulitzer more expensive?

Lilly Pulitzer is significantly more expensive. As a premium apparel and accessories brand, its individual items like dresses and handbags can cost hundreds of dollars. Erin Condren's products are utilitarian tools, and while they are premium for their category, they are much more affordable.

Which brand has better quality?

Both have excellent quality, but in different ways. Erin Condren has superior quality for its purpose: durable planners with thick paper and sturdy coils designed for heavy daily use. Lilly Pulitzer has superior quality in fashion, using premium fabrics, vibrant dyes that don't fade, and strong stitching.

What is Erin Condren known for?

Erin Condren is primarily known for its flagship LifePlanner, a highly customizable weekly coiled planner. The brand has built its reputation on allowing customers to create organizational systems that perfectly match their style and functional needs.

What is Lilly Pulitzer's signature style?

Lilly Pulitzer's signature style is best described as preppy resort wear. It is characterized by extremely bright, colorful, hand-painted prints that often feature floral, tropical, or nautical themes. It's a look synonymous with summer vacations and a cheerful, polished lifestyle.

Does Erin Condren sell clothing?

No, Erin Condren does not sell clothing. Their primary focus is on stationery, planners, bags, and desk accessories for home, work, and school.

Does Lilly Pulitzer sell planners?

Yes, Lilly Pulitzer sells planners and agendas. They typically come in 12 or 17-month formats and are decorated with the brand's iconic prints. However, unlike Erin Condren, they are not customizable and are considered more of a fashion accessory.

Which brand is better for gifting?

It depends entirely on the recipient. An Erin Condren planner or a gift card to their site is a fantastic gift for someone who loves organizing, is starting a new job, or is a student. A Lilly Pulitzer dress, scarf, or handbag is a wonderful gift for someone who loves fashion and embodies that bright, preppy style.

Where can I buy these brands?

Erin Condren products are predominantly sold through their own website, though their items can sometimes be found at retailers like Staples or Target. Lilly Pulitzer is sold on its website, in its own branded retail stores across the country, and through department stores like Nordstrom.