Two Texas Friends Are Rethinking How We Shop Resortwear — Get to Know Casalina

As retail has evolved from malls to digital commerce and back to brick-and-mortar (albeit hybrid versions), the resortwear category has remained largely stagnant — not the product offerings, but the act of shopping for them. Even as luxe labels like Agua Bendita, Simon Miller, and Posse are crafting elevated pieces that work as well in everyday dressing as they do on the beach, they remain hard to hunt down. Two Dallas friends, Lauren Mize and Lamar McKinley, are hoping to ease the heavy shopping lifting. Their thoughtful resortwear edit, Casalina, launches online today.

“For so long, vacation clothing felt like it was one section of your closet that you packed for the beach and didn’t touch again until the next time you went on a trip,” Mize tells PaperCity. “But resortwear has changed — the price points are steeper, the pieces are more of an investment, and resortwear overall is skewing more ready to wear with pieces that can really transition into your year-round wardrobe.”

The site is simple to navigate, letting users swiftly toggle between swimsuits, hats, cover ups, and resortwear, but the curation is what sets Casalina apart. You’ll see established names (Hunza G, Solid & Striped, or Rosie Assoulin) presented alongside investment pieces from harder-to-find emerging labels, like silk shirts from Ziah, a sustainable swimwear brand out of Australia’s Byron Bay, or a Juan De Dios sequined midi skirt that could pair equally well with a bikini top or a chunky knit.

“We really wanted the concept to host staple, well known brands that someone would expect to see when they shop for resort, but mixed with a really nice variety of smaller designers and unique brands to ensure exclusivity and give women the opportunity to add something to their wardrobe that feels more bespoke,” notes McKinley.

Capsule collections are also on the horizon for Casalina, the first of which will be a brand collaboration with a Nigerian designer slated to launch this spring.

“For this capsule we are pulling some of our favorite silhouettes from their archives and putting our own spin on them by making tweaks to the design and using fresh colors and new fabrics,” explains Mize. “The looks will always be new, fresh, and exclusive so our customers can really feel like they are getting access to something that is a limited run and won’t be on 10 other women at the beach.”

You can find more information on upcoming shoppable pop-ups following @shopcasalina on Instagram.