Accessory pets
January 23rd 2011 05:45
Ever since Legally Blonde and Paris Hilton made it (apparently) acceptable to use small dogs as accessories, the trend appears to have exploded. Living in the incredibly pet-friendly Surry Hills of inner Sydney, I see accessory pets on a daily basis. Some are adorable, some are laughable, but all appear to be more of an accessory than an actual animal companion, which makes me realise how fashionable animal ownership has actually become.
In having my own incredibly attractive but non-accessory dog (he weighs 14kgs so doesn’t really fit in even my biggest of handbags), I can see the attraction. Adorable dogs get attention, and a lot of people think the smaller the cuter. And in a city like Sydney where space is at a premium, and many apartment complexes make you carry your animal across common areas such as in lifts and foyers, the possibility of having an Old English Sheepdog is somewhat limited. The teeny tiny varieties are guaranteed to elicit a greater number of “ooohs” and “aaahs” at the park, and can be carried under one arm, or popped into a designer dog-carrier bag.
And on that note, in addition to the explosion of designer dogs, there are the accessories for the four-legged accessories. Although he’s quite content playing with an very unfashionable but seemingly insanely fun old plastic water bottle, some of my little muppet’s furry friends can be seen strutting about town carrying Chewy Vuitton squeaky handbags or playing with much trendier Dog Perignon bottles. From the outrageous outfits – I have seen dogs in shoes and smoking jackets – to dog wigs, it seems that making your animal as much of an accessory as possible is big business.
Although his ability to be on-trend could be questioned, could it be argued that Michael Jackson kicked off this trend all those years ago with his pet snake Muscles and good old Bubbles the chimp? Granted neither were suitable to carry about in a pink handbag, and everyone thought he was crazy, but maybe he was ahead of his time as far as the pet accessories go…
In having my own incredibly attractive but non-accessory dog (he weighs 14kgs so doesn’t really fit in even my biggest of handbags), I can see the attraction. Adorable dogs get attention, and a lot of people think the smaller the cuter. And in a city like Sydney where space is at a premium, and many apartment complexes make you carry your animal across common areas such as in lifts and foyers, the possibility of having an Old English Sheepdog is somewhat limited. The teeny tiny varieties are guaranteed to elicit a greater number of “ooohs” and “aaahs” at the park, and can be carried under one arm, or popped into a designer dog-carrier bag.
And on that note, in addition to the explosion of designer dogs, there are the accessories for the four-legged accessories. Although he’s quite content playing with an very unfashionable but seemingly insanely fun old plastic water bottle, some of my little muppet’s furry friends can be seen strutting about town carrying Chewy Vuitton squeaky handbags or playing with much trendier Dog Perignon bottles. From the outrageous outfits – I have seen dogs in shoes and smoking jackets – to dog wigs, it seems that making your animal as much of an accessory as possible is big business.
Although his ability to be on-trend could be questioned, could it be argued that Michael Jackson kicked off this trend all those years ago with his pet snake Muscles and good old Bubbles the chimp? Granted neither were suitable to carry about in a pink handbag, and everyone thought he was crazy, but maybe he was ahead of his time as far as the pet accessories go…
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