Clothing for dogs isn’t anything new as seen by this elaborate crocheted coat for an Italian Greyhound from 1873. People have been dressing dogs from nearly the beginning of dog ownership, the first item (and the most obvious) being the dog collar. Evidence suggests that collars have been used since before 3100 B.C., and they weren’t always forms of control. Archaeologists working in China found a dog buried that was wearing a collar of silver, gold, and turquoise, perhaps suggesting the importance and wealth of the owner.

It may have been Britain’s dog loving Princess Victoria who popularized dog clothing when she wrote that she “dressed dear sweet little Dash in a scarlet jacket and blue trousers.” By the 19th century, dog fashion became “a thing” that made profit and lead to  a manufacturing industry. Fashionable Paris alone had with over a dozen shops catering to dog wear. Lest anyone think that humanizing dogs by dressing them up is a modern concept, consider that in the 1800s, Paul Mégnin wrote in “Nos Chiens” that the fashionable dog had:

• a costume for afternoon visits
• a costume for the evening,
• a costume for travel, and
• a costume for the beach

As for beach attire, Mégnin wrote, “Our chic dogs have a special bathing outfit—in blue cambric with a sailor’s collar hemmed in white with embroidered anchors in each of the corners; and on one of the sides, embroidered in gold, the name of the beach — Cabourg or Trouville.”

Admittedly, some breeds lend themselves more to being dressed than others. A slender sighthound wearing a cable knit sweater is less unusual than a Belgian Malinois in the same garment – but it makes a mental picture, doesn’t it?