LET’S SHOP
Us women love to shop! We love to shop for our dog as well! Dog boutiques and designer clothes for dogs have popped up everywhere. And we never forget accessories! Selfies with your dog and loving photos of your dog are a must!
FROM EGYPT, CHINA TO JAPAN
You may think that designer clothes for our pooch is a modern idea, but you would be wrong. High-end custom clothes for dogs have been around almost as long as dogs have been our best friends on earth! Archaeologists have found evidence of a decadent lifestyle for dogs as far back as the Egyptian pre-dynastic period!
The first thing that was illustrated with luxury was the collar. Collars were made from fine velvet, silk and other expensive materials from far away lands. Leather collars were hand crafted with very elaborate detailed designs.
Collars in ancient China were laced with jewels. The royal family even buried their dogs with them. These dogs were buried wearing priceless jeweled collars. In ancient Japan, dogs have also been illustrated wearing expensive clothes. The Samurais had custom outfits made for their dogs that matched their armor.
FROM ROME, PARIS TO THE UNITED STATES
In Ancient Rome the most skilled dogs trained in war would be rewarded with a fitted full suit of armor identical to their owners. It appears that from studies of that period and area the spiked collar was created. Unlike the pseudo-spiked collars of today for bulldogs, the Roman spiked collars were razor sharp and deadly.
Custom accessories for dogs were very popular in Julius Caesar’s court. Caesar is known for saying that people needed to spend more money on their dogs than their children. Caesar explained that a dog can save your life but your child cannot.
Perhaps the most well known display of high fashion for dogs is from the European royal courts. One of the most famous is King Louis XI’s dog wearing scarlet velvet with 20 pearls and 11 rubies.
As the centuries passed, and the quality of life improved for the masses, their dogs too started wearing custom clothes and collars. This is when a dog’s life also started to improve in the average home as the family dog. In the United States, as the middle class grew, so did the welfare of dogs. More accessories for dogs came to the marketplace and were now being manufactured on a commercial scale.
PHOTOGRAPHY WENT TO THE DOGS
Not even photography, when it was invented in the 1800’s, overlooked the dog! Very early photos were taken of dogs in designer clothes. And the first dog boutiques appeared in Paris.
Today the internet and commercial production have made it affordable for everyone to buy super cute outfits for their dog. So don’t wait, go shopping for your pooch and have fun!