This adorable girl is Shadow. She came for a fitting at the December, holiday trunk show at Scraps and I couldn't resist trying the bridesmaid dress on her, much to her mom person's dismay. Shadow wasn't too thrilled with the dress herself. It isn't really her style - too frou-frou and certainly not colorful enough for this girl.
Anyway, her moms picked out some fabulously colorful retro style prints for her custom coat and as you can see, she feels much better about herself than she did with the dress on. I felt really bad when Marianne brought her in to pick up the coat though because as soon as she saw me she walked to the opposite side of the store to get away from me. She didn't want me putting another dress on her!
The coat is fully reversible. The reverse side is the houndstooth with the colorful print as the belt and collar so Shadow has an option for a more "professional" look should she so desire. She is a super sweet girl who is the much loved joy of her mom persons. Who wouldn't love that face?
Here I sit in the lobby of the Hilton in San Francisco and I am "jonesin' for my babies. While I've seen several dogs here in SF, none of the owners looked like they would welcome me getting my dog fix by using their dogs, so I haven't even been able to pet a dog.
I'm here checking out the SF international gift fair to see what types of pet related products are being sold and to see if it would be worth my time to participate as a vendor in a show such as this. What I'm really excited about though is the prospect of picking up some product lines in terms of collars, leashes and pet tags that are comparable in quality to my line of apparel so that my retail customers can pick up a snazzy collar and leash to go with their new fashion apparel. The two lines I feel very confident in picking up and offering are Cleopetra Pet tags and Pup Pup collars and leashes. (I have to verify their URL before I go listing it here but I'll add it later for sure.) Anyway, I've been wanting to diversify in terms of what I can offer for online sales and I'm pretty picky about quality, so meeting the owners of these two companies and seeing their product lines in person was terrific. I can now pick up these lines with confidence knowing the quality and style will make you happy. And if you are one of my wholesale customers, I HIGHLY recommend you pick up these two lines. I'll post more about them when I have more time and information.
Anyway, by now you recognize my three fur babies. Pez seems largely undisturbed when I travel; he is motivated primarily by food and a warm body to snuggle with and my husband provides both in my absence. Gus, with his orthopedic braces by Wound Wear misses me the most when I leave. As mentioned in previous posts, Gus is emotionally sensitive and depends on me for his human connection. The photo to the right was taken about 35 minutes before his 4th acupuncture session this past Wednesday (which for some reason he HATED more than any other session he's had including the first so I'm blaming it on the full moon). Doesn't he look so sweet and smooshy? He is sleeping on "his bed" which is in our back guest room/AKA Daniel's room. Grace, despite her tumultous beginning in life (I still need to post about her because she is without a doubt one of the most amazing dogs I have ever had the good fortune to share space in the world with and other people who don't have the pleasure of living with her feel the same way so I know I'm not just being biased here) also seems largely undisturbed when I travel. I'm thankful for that because I would hate to cause her any sort of discomfort for even a second.
I've had a FABULOUS time with my mom, but in 24 more hours I'll get to kiss each of my fur kids on the mouth (my husband first because he worries about ingesting dog fur, poor guy).
Yep, that's what Primped Doggies nation wide will be doing when they don one of the fashionable styles in the new line of spring rain coats by Primp Doggy.
According to Meghan Murphy of Pet Style News, "Owners of breeds large and small are buying rain gear [because] rain-wear is one of the few truly practical pieces of clothing created for canines." Of course the article contains multiple photos of new "designer" styles in rain-wear, but (and maybe I'm just biased) I wouldn't purchase a single one for any of my dogs. I'm sure the styles appeal to some; they certainly aren't ugly (with one exception and you can decide for yourself which one I'm referring to when/if you check out the article) but they just aren't what I would call "stylish."
Now these shown below ARE stylish. And don't mind the cranky looking Boston Terrier modeling them. He's cranky because I woke him from a nap in the sun and didn't have a single treat to offer him as payment for his time. What a Prima Dona!
These are just two of the seven styles Primp Doggy is debuting this February. There are plenty of details that make these as functional as they are stylish, but I don't want to give too much away. Let's see how many designers incorporate my "details" into their collections next year. But maybe I'm just being vain and someone else will think these are ugly. LOL
I have a sweet life, it's true. I live with my two people and my two dog siblings in a house that's big enough for a family of ten. There are no "off limits" spaces in my home and one of my favorite places to nap is on an antique feather-top sleigh bed with fabulous views of my ten acre yard. As my dad person is largely "retired" (whatever that means) and my mom person is an entrepreneur working out of her design studio in the home, I am seldom left alone for any length of time. When my people go outside, I go out with them. When my people are inside, I am inside with them.
If you are reading this, then you also know that I am somewhat of a doggy model. It's true, I model for still photos and I've been in several doggy fashion shows including one that was live on the morning news. I also helped my mom person judge a pet photo contest one time. You might have noticed that in some of the still photos on the site and on this blog I am wearing girl stuff. Yeah, tell me about it. But what can I say, the pay is good - about one treat per pose so who am I to complain.
A lot of people kind of snicker about my mom person's business and the way she puts clothes on me sometimes but I"m here to tell you, "DON"T FEEL SORRY FOR ME! I am, first and foremost, a DOG!" I once chased a coyote off our property (well, if I'm being completely honest, my 125 lb siblings got him running in the right direction and then I finished off the chase much to my mom person's dismay); if I find something stinky like one of the dead moles my sister leaves laying around I roll on it until I'm good and stinky; I like to eat stinky stuff; I can swim for miles and miles (okay, okay - it just feels like miles and miles across our swimming pond because I'm not so big); and I can make my big brother cry when we wrestle if I bite his foot in just the right place. What I'm trying to say is, "I am not a prissy dog who doesn't like to get dirty or who isn't allowed to get dirty," as the next photos can attest to.
Oh yeah - life is good for this DOG.
So these are sort of old news photos as this fashion show took place in September of 2006.
This was the first fashion show Primp Doggy put together and it was part of a fund-raising event held to raise money for the no-kill shelter, Homeward Pet of Woodinville WA. Three of the dresses included in the fashion show were auctioned off following the show and the proceeds from just those three dresses accounted for 1/3 of the total money raised for the night! My favorite was the Camo-Couture worn by Cleo which auctioned off for a whopping $350.00. I also really love the ultra-suede coat that was custom made for Pez, but we kept that for him to "style around" in. Pretty fun night.
This cutie boy is Gibson. I was contacted by his dad's friend Brandi who wanted me to create a "Sky Dog" super hero cape for him as a Christmas gift. While I don't normally make "costumes" for dogs, the story Brandi told me about Gibson made it clear this wasn't a costume, but rather the clothing this little guy needed to do his super hero deeds.
Gibson's dad is a musician, hence the earth name Gibson. He lives in Florida, so the cape is made of a light weight fabric and embroidered with metallic gold thread. According to Brandi, Gibson, AKA Sky Dog, loves his cape so much he doesn't want to take it off once he has it on, and he even poses in it. So if you start hearing about a super hero dog fighting crime in the Florida area, be sure to keep an eye out for GIbson.
