Resort Fabulous! Q + A with MACKIE designer and owner Pam Cameron.
Pam Cameron is a great friend with a serious joie de vivre who lifts a mood just by being around you. She now has created and delivered a line of vibrant dresses to match her luminosity and make all those who wear them, a little bit lighter and brighter! We will be packing suit cases full of MACKIEs when we slip down to Tulum in January. They are the ultimate beach dress! They also come in baby and little girl sizes-- too cute.
We asked Pam a few questions about the business and where she loves to frolic in the sand and surf....
1. How did MACKIE come into being? What inspired you to start MACKIE?
My mom is from Dallas. We spent a lot of time traveling in Texas and Mexico when I was a girl so I grew up wearing MACKIE-type Puebla dresses.
Just after college, when I was in San Francisco, I had a red hand-embroidered Mexican dress that I lived in. I loved the comfort and ease of it. My roommate happened to have one too, in a different color. The dresses instantly made things more fun so we’d both throw them on and life would turn a little funnier, brighter, happier. Her cousin had a fantastic house and pool on a slope of Mt. Tam and we’d often house-sit. Packing for those weekends was simply a bikini and my Mexican dress!
I’m now the mother of two young boys. To survive the wildness of raising them, I try to simplify as many aspects of life as I can. Combine that with my love of clothes that merge beauty, versatility and longevity and you get a MACKIE dress!
Last year, I started thinking about my red Mexican dress again and wanting that go-to, throw-on-for-anything, easy-to-live-in dress. I found a group of women who were hand making these dresses in their homes in Mexico, and MACKIE was born.
2. MACKIEs are perfect beach wear! What are your favorite warm weather destinations?
I’ve lived in NY for years now, but being from South Louisiana I’m a hot climate girl and a lover of rum. It would be hard to pick a favorite spot, but I’m partial to anywhere that offers equal parts relaxation and adventure. Give me an empty beach with white sands, a supply of delicious rum drinks, and a fishing boat to take me off to blue water.
Kamalame Cay - a tiny, secluded island a stone's throw from the Eastern coast of Andros, with an over-water spa, superb bonefishing, and they will stock your private bungalow and their pool bar with your spirit of choice during your stay.
Vieques – the beaches here are some of the wildest, most beautiful beaches I’ve ever stepped onto. You have the beach to yourself, with the exception of the wild horses who’ve roamed the island since Columbus landed. And the bioluminescent bay, which you can kayak through, is the brightest in the world. Breathtaking.
El Pescador - not remotely chic, but chicly remote, El Pescador is a rustic but lovable fishing lodge on Ambergris Cay in Belize. More adventure than relaxation here, but our guide was a master and the locals couldn’t have been warmer. My husband and I fished right up until the last minute. The lodge sent our bags ahead, and our fishing guide motored us directly from the flats to the airport!
Favorite rum concoction: the "La-sweet-o" (rhymes with mojito). A straightforward combination of Cockspur golden Barbados rum and the freshly squeezed juice of a Louisiana Sweet orange (roughly 1 part rum to 2 parts juice). Caribbean sunshine in a glass.
3. Aside from the beach, what's your fave way to wear/style your MACKIE?
Barefoot. Anywhere.
Beyond that, the great thing about the MACKIE is its versatility. There’s the “day to night” aspect of it. I’ll wear it with flip-flops at the beach or to lunch and then at night with wedge heels and earrings to dinner. However, a friend of mine recently pointed out that she likes the “night to day” strength of the MACKIE. She wears it to bed, wakes up and wears it straight out to get her coffee and drop the kids at school! It looks great with a big broad brimmed sun hat, espadrilles and a belt for something like strolling through the farmers market.
The MACKIE is so full of happiness. I love seeing it on girls. It’s a dress that allows movement and freedom for play, climbing trees, running! It’s a pretty, hand-embroidered dress, but it’s also durable which frees girls to focus on the fun they’re having rather than on keeping the dress clean and perfect.
Thanks, Pam! Happier holidays in your MACKIE. xoxoxo