What’s pink and green and slated to hit department stores in time for next summer? It’s no riddle; it’s Lilly Pulitzer’s new line of menswear.

A 120-piece collection of jackets, trousers, neckties, swimwear, and knits — featuring colorful floral, madras, and paisley prints — marks the preppy brand’s first major foray into men’s apparel in more than 20 years. It will supplant Lilly Pulitzer’s small existing menswear offerings.

Heading up the new venture is a former vice president of merchandising and design for HMX Sportswear, Douglas Conklyn, 40, who acknowledged that his Lilly Pulitzer collection may not appeal to the masses. “It’s not for everyone,” Mr. Conklyn, the brand’s vice president of men’s apparel, said yesterday. “It’s for the guy who wants to be noticed, the guy who’s looking to stand apart from the crowd. Of course, we’re going to be doing a lot more printed neckwear and swimsuits than we are floral blazers, but the floral blazers are important because that’s who we are — quirky and unexpected.”

A limited launch in up to 25 men’s specialty stores is planned for next spring, though a Lilly Pulitzer spokeswoman, Courtney Reagan Crawford, said the company has yet to determine what stores will be first to carry the line.

A Palm Beach socialite, Lilly Pulitzer designed both women’s and men’s clothing when she founded the label in 1960. Early on, the designs gained wide popularity with an affluent clientele that included Jacqueline Kennedy, who was featured wearing a Lilly shift dress in Life magazine. Ms. Pulitzer retired 24 years later. In 1993, however, Sugartown Worldwide in King of Prussia, Pa., purchased the rights to license the Lilly Pulitzer name. The “feelgood brand,” as Mr. Conklyn called it, now comprises swimwear, bedding, and children’s collections.

Sketches of the new menswear ensembles are reminiscent of the Vineyard Vines line of vibrant-hued sportswear and its $65 patterned neckties, which are popular with the country-house set. Not only is the color palette similar, so too are the prices. Lilly Pulitzer’s summer 2007 collection for men will comprise $65 neckties, knit shirts starting at $85, and tailored blazers — even one in navy blue! — for about $600.

“Certainly nobody’s afraid of color anymore,” a menswear manager at an upscale department store, Richards, in Greenwich, Conn., Joseph Cox, said. “For so many years, everything was black and gray and severe-looking. Now people are ready for more.”

While bright colors are no longer a major sticking point with most men, bold patterns can be, Mr. Cox said. He predicted Lilly Pulitzer will do well, initially, but said he was unsure about its long-term viability. “If it’s new, it will sell automatically,” he said. “How long it will last is a different story.”