I've always thought she'd be Gorgeous!Lily, but I just met someone named Lily IRL who is so . . . Lily-ish. She's not drop-dead supermodel gorgeous, but she's not ugly at all either. She's kinda plain, but her personality makes her sparkle. (For some odd reason, Sparkle!Lily came to mind right then . . . that sounds like a barbie)

Anyway, so what do you think? Gorgeous!Lily or Plain!Lily? I think both would have gorgeous personalities, but that's just my thoughts.

Chee

I always thought that Lily would be very pretty, but not a beauty that everyone swoons over, but just a more subdued beauty that is downplayed by her personality that just draws people to her. she strikes me as a very enigmatic person, green eyes and all, the way JKR has described her so far is very vague and can go in almost any direction, but mostly I lean towards an almost classic beauty that only people who take a second look at her will see, almost like it radiates from within.
I'm not sure she was either of the extremes of Gorgeous or Plain, but was situated comfortably in between the two, balancing them perfectly. But maybe that's just me, wouldn't be the first time.

~Julie

I don't think Lily was supermodel gorgeous. Even for someone genetically gifted that takes a ridiculous amount of time and energy devoted to grooming, exercise, etc. and she had better things to do with her time. I do, however, see her along the lines of the beautiful women I know IRL. Naturally good skin and hair, nice even features, etc. They don't look perfect - they might be too short or too curvy or whatever to fit the model ideal - but they're still probably the most beautiful people you're going to get to see in person.

Well, I for one believe she WAS gorgeous, just did absolutely nothing to show it. What I mean is; ordinary clothes, no make up, hair pulled back in a normal ponytail... But I do think that she was rather popular among the guys at school, but would have given her love only to those she could trust and know very well.

My two knuts.

Me, I've always pictured Lily as a beautiful person all around, and I've always thought that it wasn't her looks that made her beautiful (although they helped) I always thought that it was the way she carried herself, more like her confidence and personality that shone through her outer shell.

And while I'm on the subject, I'd like to say that of course James had to be hott, and of course he had a great personality. Harry shame on you for doubting his great character!

That was A look inside me thoughts.

I always thought that Lily's beautiful in a plain kind of way. I really think it fits her character from what we know about her in OoTP. Sometimes, she even reminds me of Hermione! And I still think Hermione's plain but beautiful once you take time to know her and notice it.

I picture Lily as beautiful. Naturally, truely beautiful but subdued by the lack of attention she gave to personal grooming. I say this because I feel that James was originally attracted to her because of her good looks.It turned deeper and deeper every year...by 7 yr he loved her not only because of her looks but also because of the beutiful personality nestled inside, a result of the incessant observations on his part.

I also...get the impression, somehow that she was...short. Really, it sort of fits into her description.Short, delicate and feminine...James was tall gangley and athletic...

I see Lily as being on the petite side too. It'd explain, in part, her determination and I seem to recall that in JKR's drawing of the Mirror of Erised she was notably shorter than James.

Ooh, where can you find JKR's drawing of the Mirror of Erised? I've been absolutely combing her site, but I haven't come across that one yet... how do you find it?

I'm not sure it's actually posted anywhere. My memory might be off here, but I think I saw it on a biography I saw about JKR on TV - she was showing all the notebooks, etc. she has.

Tough question....
I think that Lily was beautiful in a classic way, like Audrey Hepburn. Of course, she was a naturally friendly person; kind, sweet, caring, but the Lily I always envisioned was a very beautiful person on the outside as well. That is partially why I hate the whole "red-headed temper" thing. My mother is a red-head, and she's the nicest person I know.
So, all in all, I think Lily was leaning towards the Gergeous!Lily, because I can never, ever see her as plain.

I've always pictured Lily to be Gorgeous, although not one of those airhead type of gorgeous girls. I think she was extremely pretty, but she didn't want that to be a reason for why someone would like her (ex. James). This is how I've always imagined her, and I hope it to be at least remotely true.

Hopefully though James didn't fall in love with her for just her looks...which I think isn't the case. I think they really loved each other.

I agree with the general consensus here and believe that Lily was very pretty indeed, yet didn't normally 'make herself up' to make her beauty obvious.

She was probably a lot like Hermione without the hair issue. Remember when Hermione went to the Ball, Harry thought she was very pretty.

I know people who are very pretty, yet boys don't flock over them in droves because they don't put whore!makeup on... it's kind of a sad world like that, but I tell them that they wouldn't want that kind of attention anyway.

Well, when I read the books, I pictured a girl with long cherry red hair and a charming smile that will make a guy melt to the floor. She had big red painted lips and nails. But when I saw the Movie, I was shocked to see that she was nothing like what I thought. Sort of like with Fred & Goerge. Then again, I was thinking of a young and more youthful Lily. I really have to wait for the 5th Movie, eh?

When I think of the name "Lily", I think of a beautiful young woman and a charming personality.


Cheers...Phelp Phan

I think lily is very pretty in a normal way I mean she isn't a supermodel but she is pretty maybe one of the most pretties of Howgarts but what really makes her beutifull is her personality, just like Hermione

IMO lily's boderlining supermodel looks. I just cant help it but i just see her as being beautiful! Not a beauty queen snobbish kind of beauty but classic and simple! and i also pictured her as being very petite too! (and i also see hermione the same way...even with the so called bushy hair )

I've always imagined Lily to be pretty.. not supermodel and not plain.. somewhere in between, so that she stands out a bit in a crowd. The name Lily is beautiful unto itself, it makes me think of someone who is graceful.

I don't think she was the type of girl to "glamourize" herself everyday, but was just pretty nonetheless. She also had a striking personality, since she wasn't afraid to stand up for people.. like Hermione.

In an attempt to revive these forums a bit....think about this:

Now we all have been discussing if we think Lily would be a gorgeous or plain type of girl, but what about make-up? Her style? How would she dress outside of Hogwarts? Do you think she would be very hip or maybe a bit her own style with only a bit of influence from pop culture?

Personally, I think Lily would be the type to wear very light make-up. The style in the 70's was very over-the-top if I am thinking about the right deacde that is. I think she would have curly hair, maybe once in a while styled into a high ponytail after being ironed straight(oh, the days without hair straighteners.)

I think her style may be a tad stuck in the past, after all she spends half the year at Hogwarts and there she was probably quite secluded from any fashion alerts, don't you think? I do think she might be the type to put on one of those scandadously short skirts maybe once or twice(if only to experiment.) But mostly I think she would have a very unique style for herself that has been kind of pressed she create because of her attachment from the Muggle world after she entered Hogwarts. Because obviously during the summer she had to dress like a Muggle.

Julie

I have always thought of Lily to wear either light make-up or no make-up at all. After all, natural beauty is much more beautiful without the layers of make-up. I picture her as a teenager with wavy red hair and sparkling green eyes that mirror her strong personality.

We must remember that Lily lived with Petunia back then. Her parents loved her dearly. I think Lily outshone Petunia in not only looks, but in style as well (another reason why Petunia was of Lily). I imagine Lily would be wearing bright colors. Mostly green though to match her best feature: her eyes.

Lily sounds like a very independent girl so I think she would have her own style. Her strong personality makes her more of a trend-setter than a trend-follower.

Her inner strength and unique style catches the attention of one of Hogwart's most eligible males--James Potter.

Whenever I think of Lily I think of her as a very sweet, kind person like a certain Hermione Granger, not to mention smart As for her physical appereance I always thought that she is very pretty not the most gorgeous girl at Hogwarts but pretty enough for James to like her

Well Harry describes his mum as what is apparently is a gorgeous young girl.

She was described as a mirrior image of Hermione .

If you wanna get technical, Lily was described as "she had thick, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders, and startlingly green almond shaped eyes". So we don't really know if she looks like Hermione at all.

I reckon Lily was neither, actually. If you read this interview on Mugglenet with JK she says about Lily, "like Ginny, she was a popular girl". So I think that Lily was studious, but reckless and fun like a true Gryffindor. She is often decribed as "pretty" in the books (when she comes out of Voldie's wand in GoF) and I think she was, but gorgeous or plain? They're the two extremes and I don't think she was either.

I agree with theoc. I picture Lily as a unique character, not a replica of someone else to foreshadow who Harry is going to end up with. While some parts of her persona can be used to say she is like someone else, I don't think there is enough evidence there to support any of it.

Lily and Hermione both had bushy hair and were studios. Lily and Ginny were both fairly popular (assuming that Lily hanging out on the beach of the lake makes her popular) and have red hair. Lily and Narcissa Black both defied Voldemort in some way, but no ships (that I know of) predict Harry and Narcissa becoming an 'item' in the near future. This sorta sounds like a weak arguement, but it's the best I could come up with to support it. Ah well...cest la vie

JKR seems to put a big emphasis on the fact that she was popular, and that it was relevant [I don't see how, but...] I also don't like the fact that H/G seems to be the quintessential star football player/head cheerleader thing going on.

Anyway, I picture Lily as just being pretty, strong, unique. Wearing make-up like very other girl, but not a lot at all. Nice clothes, staying in fashion, being very intelligent. I don't know...it's hard, we don't really have very much to go on.

I hate it when people describe Lily as perfect. Yeah, she probably got good grades and became head girl. Yeah, she was more responsible than James. But she was a teenager in Hogwarts, and she probably cut out pictures of cute guys in magazines, wore new clothes the day after she got them, randomly giggled around guys and kicking herself for it later, and passed notes during class.

What annoys me overall with L/J is James is always the one messing up. I know that MOST fanfics are written by girls (i'm not being sexist, just proving a point!) so there is a tendency to put girls as the perfect character b/c the author pictures herself as Lily more than James. Still, Lily can mess up the relationship too, it's not just James saying stupid things and Lily giving him a slap on the back of his hand. Anyway. back to the topic. end of rant.

Lily wasn't a rebel, perfect, prudish, slutty, hermione, or ginny. She was Lily, a character of her own with strong points and weak points. So...i don't know...she just a person.