Dog fashion is a popular style or practice, especially in canine clothing and accessories. Dog fashion is a distinctive trend of the style in which people dress their canine companions. This trend dates back to the Egyptian predynastic period and has since expanded due to increased consumer capitalism. Other animals such as cats may also wear fashion. [1]
There is evidence from ancient Egypt that people were using decorative collars to adorn their dogs. One collar was discovered in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian nobleman Maihar Piri in 1440 BC. It depicts hunting scenes embossed into leather. The dog's name, Tantanuit, is visible on the collar. He was a favorite dog of the nobleman who wished to bring him to the afterlife. [2] There are also silver, gold, silk and velvet decorative dog collars from the time of King Henry VIII which were used to represent how many battles the dog survived. [3] During the Renaissance, dogs were seen as objects of possession and thus collars were fitted with padlocks where only the owner of the dog had the key. Nobility and the upper class have been decorating their canine companions for centuries and there is photographic evidence from 1900 of people dressing their dogs in human costumes. [4] Today, it is common for people to dress up their dogs, particularly small dogs, and canine clothing has become a global phenomenon. In 2011, there was a dog fashion show in New York called Last Bark at Bryant Park. [5]
Dog fashion and style has been greatly influenced with the advent of the internet. [6] New professions have arisen driven by consumer capitalism, such as the pet style expert. [7]
Dog clothes are available in various price ranges, from inexpensive to high-end designer styles. Typically toy and small breed dogs, such as Chihuahuas and Yorkshire Terriers, are dressed in dog clothes, although even large breeds like Golden Retrievers can wear clothes, too. It is more common to dress small dogs because they are easier to dress and they often suffer from cold temperatures. Dog clothes are made to be either functional or for show. Functional dog clothes are for protection from the elements and allergens. Dog clothes that are purely for show would be used as costumes for holidays and special occasions, such as Halloween or weddings.
Dog coats are most commonly used for protection against rain and cold and to provide extra warmth. Dog coats are also used as fashion accessories.
Dog sweaters are both functional and fashion accessories. They provide extra warmth for dogs that are hairless or suffer from the cold and come in an array of patterns and styles, such as cable knitted sweaters or hooded sweatshirts with embellishments.
Dog shirts can be used to help keep a dog clean and as fashion accessories. They can also be used to help protect a dog who is excessively scratching itself due to allergies or prevent hairless dogs from getting sunburned. They are available in a t-shirt style with short or long sleeves as well as a sleeveless tank top for use during warmer weather.
Dog dresses are purely fashion accessories and are mainly worn on toy and small breed dogs. [6]
Dog tuxedos also exist. Some people may involve dogs in formal-wear at their weddings, whether in photos, parties, or at the ceremony itself. There has been at least one documented case of a dog serving as the owner's best man. [8]
Dog hats are an alternative to clothes if dogs get too warm wearing garments. Dog hats can be worn for warmth or to be fashionable. One hat trend has holes for pointy eared dogs. This allows you to dress up your dog without disguising their breed.
There is a clear distinction between pet shows [9] and pet fashion shows. The pet fashion show's emphasis is on the clothes, not on the dog. In countries all over the world, pet fashion shows are becoming increasingly popular [10] [1] [11] [12] During these shows, well groomed pets strut down the runway wearing high fashion clothes. Some well known designers such as Alexander Wang have designed outfits for dogs. [13] Anthony Rubio, a New York designer, was the first to hold a canine fashion show at New York Fashion Week. [14]
Dog coats, collars, cute sweaters, shirts, stylish dresses, and booties are some of the items people purchase to adorn their dogs with style. [6] Some major international fashion retailers such as Ralph Lauren have launched their own canine clothing lines. [15] Louis Vuitton has a line of leashes and collars for dogs with their trademark LV pattern. [16] Swarovski also has a line of collars and leashes for dogs with crystals. [17]
The canine fashion industry has become a multi-billion dollar business [18] set to top £30 billion in 2015. In the US, expenditure on pet supplies, including clothing, has been steadily increasing for the last twenty years with 2014 estimated spending at $13.72 billion. As of 2014, an estimated 26.7 million US households owned a dog, and an estimated 83.3 million dogs were kept as pets in the United States. The dog fashion industry is projected to continually grow. [19]
In 2021, the pet apparel market was valued at $5.7 billion, with dog owners accounting for the majority of sales. [20]
Humans typically have deep attachments to their dogs because dogs are adept at fulfilling emotionally supportive roles in people's lives which results in high levels of attachment. Dog owners who are single, childless, newly married, empty nesters, divorced, or in a second marriage tend to anthropomorphize their pets more often. Dogs can be emotional substitutes for family members such as children and spouses and they contribute to the moral maintenance of people who live alone. [21]
Dogs have become increasingly important and treated as unique individuals. In a world where people are increasingly disconnected from their families, they rely more on their pets, specifically dogs, to fill emotional voids. Pets have become a relatively easy and lovable replacement for children or a strong community. [22]
Humans have been dependent on animals as sources of companionship and artistic inspiration since the Paleolithic period, and animals have continued to mold the shape of human culture and psychology ever since. [23]
Increasing affluence means that more people can spend resources on items that are not necessary, like clothes and costumes. [24]
People express themselves through fashion. As Georg Simmel says, "Style is the manifestation of our inner feelings and through style we demonstrate our taste, values, and status. We project all of those qualities onto our dogs when we dress them." [25]
The appearance of a dog reflects the status of the owner: dressing a dog is more about the owner than the animal. When an owner dresses up their dog they establish a unique bond with the dog that places them at an even more personal and intimate level. [6]
Dogs are often shown in movies dressed up in clothing and costumes. This reflects the contemporary trend of dog fashion. In films such as Oliver and Company , one of the characters is a female dog, Georgette, who indulges in luxury fashion and wears leopard print scarves, big hats, and jeweled collars. [26]
In the Disney film Beverly Hills Chihuahua , a family of chihuahuas portray small dogs wearing fashionable clothes including sunglasses, hats, shirts, dresses, jeweled collars, and bandanas. In one scene, a wedding takes place between two dogs where the female dog wears a bridal gown and the male dog groom wears a tuxedo. [27]
A popular trend in various kids films, dogs are shown with the capability of human speech and dressed up in human clothing while remaining quadrupedal. A great example of this would be Air Bud (1997). The film centers around an escaped circus dog turned adopted stray that is taken to a basketball court and is discovered to have incredible talent in the sport. [28] Throughout the film, the dog is shown in various human outfits and attire.
Traditional Japanese fashion represents a long-standing history of traditional culture, encompassing colour palettes developed in the Heian period, silhouettes adopted from Tang dynasty clothing and cultural traditions, motifs taken from Japanese culture, nature and traditional literature, the use of types of silk for some clothing, and styles of wearing primarily fully-developed by the end of the Edo period. The most well-known form of traditional Japanese fashion is the kimono, with the term kimono translating literally as "something to wear" or "thing worn on the shoulders". Other types of traditional fashion include the clothing of the Ainu people and the clothes of the Ryukyuan people which is known most notably including the traditional fabrics of bingata and bashōfu produced on the Ryukyu Islands.
A lap dog or lapdog is a dog that is both small enough to be held in the arms or lie comfortably on a person's lap and temperamentally predisposed to doing so. Lapdog is not a specific breed, but a generic term for a type of dog that is small in size and friendly towards humans.
A pet harness is equipment consisting of straps of webbing that loop nearly around—that fasten together using side release buckles—the torso of an animal.
Clothing terminology comprises the names of individual garments and classes of garments, as well as the specialized vocabularies of the trades that have designed, manufactured, marketed and sold clothing over hundreds of years.
1840s fashion in European and European-influenced clothing is characterized by a narrow, natural shoulder line following the exaggerated puffed sleeves of the later 1820s and 1830s. The narrower shoulder was accompanied by a lower waistline for both men and women.
1850s fashion in Western and Western-influenced clothing is characterized by an increase in the width of women's skirts supported by crinolines or hoops, the mass production of sewing machines, and the beginnings of dress reform. Masculine styles began to originate more in London, while female fashions originated almost exclusively in Paris.
Fashion in the period 1550–1600 in European clothing was characterized by increased opulence. Contrasting fabrics, slashes, embroidery, applied trims, and other forms of surface ornamentation remained prominent. The wide silhouette, conical for women with breadth at the hips and broadly square for men with width at the shoulders had reached its peak in the 1530s, and by mid-century a tall, narrow line with a V-lined waist was back in fashion. Sleeves and women's skirts then began to widen again, with emphasis at the shoulder that would continue into the next century. The characteristic garment of the period was the ruff, which began as a modest ruffle attached to the neckband of a shirt or smock and grew into a separate garment of fine linen, trimmed with lace, cutwork or embroidery, and shaped into crisp, precise folds with starch and heated irons.
Fashion in the years 1750–1775 in European countries and the colonial Americas was characterised by greater abundance, elaboration and intricacy in clothing designs, loved by the Rococo artistic trends of the period. The French and English styles of fashion were very different from one another. French style was defined by elaborate court dress, colourful and rich in decoration, worn by such iconic fashion figures as Marie Antoinette.
During the 1820s in European and European-influenced countries, fashionable women's clothing styles transitioned away from the classically influenced "Empire"/"Regency" styles of c. 1795–1820 and re-adopted elements that had been characteristic of most of the 18th century, such as full skirts and clearly visible corseting of the natural waist.
1880s fashion in Western and Western-influenced countries is characterized by the return of the bustle. The long, lean line of the late 1870s was replaced by a full, curvy silhouette with gradually widening shoulders. Fashionable waists were low and tiny below a full, low bust supported by a corset. The Rational Dress Society was founded in 1881 in reaction to the extremes of fashionable corsetry.
Fashion in the period 1795–1820 in European and European-influenced countries saw the final triumph of undress or informal styles over the brocades, lace, periwigs and powder of the earlier 18th century. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, no one wanted to appear to be a member of the French aristocracy, and people began using clothing more as a form of individual expression of the true self than as a pure indication of social status. As a result, the shifts that occurred in fashion at the turn of the 19th century granted the opportunity to present new public identities that also provided insights into their private selves. Katherine Aaslestad indicates how "fashion, embodying new social values, emerged as a key site of confrontation between tradition and change."
Fashion in the years following World War II is characterized by the resurgence of haute couture after the austerity of the war years. Square shoulders and short skirts were replaced by the soft femininity of Christian Dior's "New Look" silhouette, with its sweeping longer skirts, fitted waist, and rounded shoulders, which in turn gave way to an unfitted, structural look in the later 1950s.
The most characteristic North American fashion trend from the 1930s to 1945 was attention at the shoulder, with butterfly sleeves and banjo sleeves, and exaggerated shoulder pads for both men and women by the 1940s. The period also saw the first widespread use of man-made fibers, especially rayon for dresses and viscose for linings and lingerie, and synthetic nylon stockings. The zipper became widely used. These essentially U.S. developments were echoed, in varying degrees, in Britain and Europe. Suntans became fashionable in the early 1930s, along with travel to the resorts along the Mediterranean, in the Bahamas, and on the east coast of Florida where one can acquire a tan, leading to new categories of clothes: white dinner jackets for men and beach pajamas, halter tops, and bare midriffs for women.
Western fashion in the 1920s underwent a modernization. For women, fashion had continued to change away from the extravagant and restrictive styles of the Victorian and Edwardian periods, and towards looser clothing which revealed more of the arms and legs, that had begun at least a decade prior with the rising of hemlines to the ankle and the movement from the S-bend corset to the columnar silhouette of the 1910s. Men also began to wear less formal daily attire and athletic clothing or 'Sportswear' became a part of mainstream fashion for the first time.
Fashion in the period 1900–1909 in the Western world continued the severe, long and elegant lines of the late 1890s. Tall, stiff collars characterize the period, as do women's broad hats and full "Gibson Girl" hairstyles. A new, columnar silhouette introduced by the couturiers of Paris late in the decade signaled the approaching abandonment of the corset as an indispensable garment.
Fashion from 1910 to 1919 in the Western world was characterized by a rich and exotic opulence in the first half of the decade in contrast with the somber practicality of garments worn during the Great War. Men's trousers were worn cuffed to ankle-length and creased. Skirts rose from floor length to well above the ankle, women began to bob their hair, and the stage was set for the radical new fashions associated with the Jazz Age of the 1920s.
Chinese clothing includes the traditional hanfu and garments of ethnic minorities, as well as modern variations of indigenous Chinese dresses. Chinese clothing has been shaped through its dynastic traditions, as well as through foreign influences. Chinese clothing showcases the traditional fashion sensibilities of Chinese culture traditions and forms one of the major cultural facets of Chinese civilization.
Fashion in the twenty years between 1775 and 1795 in Western culture became simpler and less elaborate. These changes were a result of emerging modern ideals of selfhood, the declining fashionability of highly elaborate Rococo styles, and the widespread embrace of the rationalistic or "classical" ideals of Enlightenment philosophes.
Anthony Rubio is an American fashion designer, best known for creating costumes for dogs. His designs have been exhibited at events like New York and Los Angeles Fashion Weeks, and have appeared in magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar and Elle.
Canadian fashion refers to the styles, trends, design, and production of clothing, footwear, accessories, and other expressions of fashion in Canada and the polities it is descended from.