I say, in terms of planners for 2016, there are many front runners. There are the two we all cling to (especially as bloggers): Kate Spade and Lilly Pulitzer, but also the up and coming Day Designers by Whitney English, customizable Erin Condren, and the ever so instagram worthy, Ban.do. Plus, in addition to those five, let’s not forget the fabulous planners Target debuts each and every season!

The blogger world has absolutely glorified the decision of choosing one, but I must say, I have bought into it the same as everyone else. This over-glorficiation starts with the fact that most of us buy planners for the upcoming school year just as one ends. To clarify: I ordered my Kate Spade Agenda for the following school year a few days ago. I finished Senior Year (officially) on June 18 – so a pretty hilarious timeline, when you actually think about it.

A planner is a cool thing to get excited about though – especially if you are Type A like me. Brands don’t help slow down the process as they hype up the release of their agendas  in early June – getting the e-mails from Lilly Pulitzer and Kate Spade make buying a planner seem that much more urgent and thus, I buy into the hype and get on the bandwagon right away.

This year, I was extremely stuck on what planner to get. Ultimately, I bit the bullet and bought a Kate Spade (a type I’ve never had before!) because I kept seeing it everywhere and adored one of the prints. Although I loved the Lilly planners, in my head, a Lilly planner was synonymous with high school, and now that I am going to college, I wanted something completely different.

The hardest part about choosing a planner was the fact that it was so hard to compare all the feature’s side by side. I tried to bridge that gap with this post while also throwing in a little bit of humor about the stereotypical owner about each planner (despite the fact that in general, the fact that this post exists perhaps is the funniest thing of all).

Erin Condren – You are Type A to the max. There was no pre-existing planner on the market that suited your needs, so you had to go out and create your own. 

Features: Completely customizable (at many levels with design, layout, colors, and more), spiral, option to do a horizontal or vertical layout, can customize what months you receive (rest of the year, just one calendar year, etc.) tabs, includes motivational quotes.

Website grab: Classic never goes out of style. Get our signature look with bold colors, inspirational quotes and fresh NEW designs!

Lilly Pulitzer - You love all things preppy, and chances are, you have been a loyal Lilly lover for some time. If not, then you are a blogger who was sucked into the agenda hype.

Features: Two versions (hard binder or spiral), sticker set, monthly print themes, includes brand reminders of when collections are launching, easy layout, overall calendar (twice of each month throughout the agenda), space to plan each specific day, different size options.

Website grab: No matter if you need this as your assignment book for school, or your daily and monthly planner for your busy life, you will love your Lilly agenda.

Ban.do  - You are fun and not afraid of change. Ban.do is new to the scene, but you were ready to dive right in with this journal style agenda. 

Features: Notebook style, fun prints, sticker set inside, various sizes, three different prints to choose from, color coded month tabs, fun to-do’s for every weekend, ability to purchasing matching pencil case, phone case, pens, etc. from the Ban.do website.

Website grab: So did being organized just get cool? Yup, it totally did! Whoever said planning wasn’t fun clearly never set eyes on this gem.

Kate Spade - You’re preppy, but not enough that you’re loyalty is only to Lilly Pulitzer. You judge a book by it’s cover (occasionally), and were willing to pay for a cute design and a designer name. 

Features: All are “binder” style (no spirals), interior pocket, month tabs, gold accents, monthly spreads, daily spreads, elastic closure, fun fonts.

Website grab: in a playful new print, this 17-month agenda is a to-do lister’s dream come true. complete with monthly and weekly spreads, note pages and laminated dividers, keeping tabs has never looked so good.

Day Designer - You are a to-do list based person that thrives on a structured schedule with spaces for specific parts of your day. You did your research, and this was the best option for you.

Features: A few different cover options, one standard design, to-do list set-up with monthly spreads, daily gratitude (motivational quote), comes with separate worksheets, gold protective corners, white paper.

Website grab:  Created with creative professionals, busy mamas, and girls-on-the-go in mind, the unique Day Designer® four-step daily planning system can bring order to chaos.

Of course, everyone has something that is important to them when looking for a planner. For some people, it can be simple as a planner having white pages instead of off-white. Whatever it is, I hope this helped in some way. Since online descriptions don’t always cut it, I recruited some girls who used different types of planners in the past to share their experiences:

@rachelannen: Owner of Kate Spade, Lilly Pulitzer, & Ban.do

“They all have good components. The Lilly have white pages and is always cheerful and bright, the kate spade is more durable but the pages are ivory and are very thin, definitely the most sophisticated and sleek. The bando has the thickest pages but doesn’t have the “fun” extras that Lilly and Kate spade have.” 

@hannahwacamera: Owner of Kate Spade

I had the medium in Bella Bookshelf last year! absolutely perfect size and ink didn’t bleed through the pages. I also really loved the hard cover and spine so pages wouldn’t bend/fall out and I kept sticky notes in the pocket!

@empire_styles: Owner of Jumbo Lilly Pulitzer

“ I had a jumbo Lilly. Loved the prints & layout but HATED the spiral. It was falling apart by Dec. Overall, not worth it. I love cute agendas, but not sacrificing quality. This year I’m planning on trying Kate Spade or Day Designer!”

@CaliBelleBlog: Owner of Erin Condren

“I would have to say that my Erin Condren Planner has always been one of my favorites. The layout is best for my high school schedule.”

@asunnystateomind: Owner of Lilly Pulitzer

“I loved my Lilly Pulitzer agenda because the bright cover and playful pages provided a fun platform for me to stay organized. I was actually excited to plan, and the change of pattern each month was an awesome way to mix things up. Even though I’m not a little kid, I still love the stickers that come on the inside of the cover! When I would take out my planner in class to write down due dates, I could tell that my teachers took note of my punctuality. While planners typically seem boring, a Lilly planner is anything but boring.

@Courtney_Brewer: Owner of Lilly Pulitzer

“Call me a stereotypical blogger, but I can’t imagine using anything other than a Lilly Pulitzer Large Agenda. They’re bright and colorful but not to the point of being childish or unprofessional. It lets me show a little bit of personality when writing down homework and scheduling appointments. The “Dates to Celebrate” and notes sections are filled with everything from my best friends’ birthdays, important milestone dates, running lists of inspiration, and various doodles (not to mention, who doesn’t love the stickers?)/ Month overviews let me see my whole month at a glance while the daily sections let me pencil in every detail. It’s what I always have and most likely always will use.”

@classycathleen: Owner of Kate Spade

Last year, I had the large Kate Spade agenda in the print Bella Bookshelf. The previous year, I had a large Lilly Pulitzer agenda. I chose to purchase a Kate Spade agenda last year because it seemed more grown up and more of my style now. I absolutely loved it! I loved the simplicity of it. It had everything I needed in it… A space to write down what I need to get done for The week. I would definitely recommend a Kate Spade agenda to any girls looking for a break from Lilly Pulitzer. I plan on purchasing another Kate Spade for this year too!

…So this unintentionally turned into a Bloggers Discuss. Whoops!

And there you have it… the low-down on the 2016 agenda line-up.

What are you getting?

Written by Jamie from The Fashion Newcomer