To welcome spring, on April 1^st Lord & Taylor debuted the legendary rose's new makeover in cheery “sunrise.” The yellow and orange rose can already be seen on the awnings of the Fifth Avenue Flagship store, as well as in the windows, and on shopping bags, cosmetics boxes and plastered across New York City buses. Lord & Taylor stores everywhere will be painted with the new sunrise rose through Memorial Day – May 26^th.

But the new rose signifies more than just an update; it also kicks off the first annual rose design contest. Lord & Taylor is giving artists, graphic designers, photographers, and anyone else with a rose colored vision the opportunity to create a new rose for 2009.

They must submit their designs online by May 26^th. Once the store chooses the top 30 submissions, shoppers everywhere will get the chance to vote for their favorite, and the artist behind the top submission wins $10,000. That might even make Girlawhirl – decidedly lacking in natural artistic talent – pick up a pencil and start sketching.