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Trixie, a 15-week-old Yorkshire terrier, is fitted with a grey party dress made by her owner, Suzanne Crosier, who, along with her husband, Dean Crosier, runs a business to create clothes and accessories for dogs. Photo: Tribune News Service

To wed in style, get your dog a matching dress for the walk down the aisle

Custom-made bridal dresses for pets are big business for one couple, who also make dog costumes for festivals such as Christmas and gear including hoodies and tuxedos for male dogs. They’ve even dressed cats and miniature pigs

When a bride walks down the aisle in her carefully chosen wedding gown, these days she may be accompanied by the family dog wearing matching attire.

“In the summer, I sell at least one wedding dress each week,” said Suzanne Crosier, who makes pet clothes in the games room of her home under the business name Chic Doggie Boutique and whose customers come from many parts of the world, including China.

The dog bridal dresses can be custom-made to mimic the style of the actual bride’s gown. Pricier ones often have pearls and other embellishments hand sewn into the design. They sell for US$25 to US$60 and usually take one to three hours to make.

Dean Crosier with Tootsie, who sports a white wedding dress made by his wife, Susanne, and two of the family’s other dogs. Photo: TNS
Crosier and her husband, Dean, have sold more that 800 dog outfits since they started in July 2012. Business continues to pick up for them and for other pet clothing companies as more and more dog owners – and to a lesser degree owners of cats and even miniature pigs – dress their pets in increasingly elaborate clothes and costumes.

Do a Google search for “clothes for dogs” and you’ll get about 66 million results. Do a search for “handmade clothes for dogs”, and results total 1.15 million, including the Crosiers’ boutique and Etsy, a popular website where the Crosiers also sell their wares.

The American Pet Products Association in Greenwich, Connecticut, estimates that more than US$60 billion will be spent by Americans on their pets this year. While there is no separate category for pet clothing, some US$5.2 billion of that total is for services, such as grooming and boarding.

“More than 90 per cent of people consider dogs part of their family,” said Mikkel Becker, resident trainer for www.Vetstreet.com
Dogs and a cat take part in an animal fancy dress parade as part of carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AFP
She noted that while the practice is often funny, she emphasises that clothes should never be forced on any animal that gets stressed when dressed.

Even designer Ralph Lauren has dressed dogs in his high-end label. Collaborating with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the fashion icon put his designer clothes on shelter and rescue dogs for a successful and innovative “The Dog Walk” campaign in 2013. All of the dogs in the show were quickly adopted.

I started doing this because I thought it was cute and because many of the clothes sold in stores are poor quality,” Suzanne Crosier said.

They make pet clothes for all occasions, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas being the busiest seasons. They have had orders for dog dresses for Hanukkah and Passover, and one customer ordered a fancy dress for what she called “a doggy prom”.

She may not be going up the aisle, but the trend for matching clothes for pets has clearly caught on with this woman walking down a street in Beijing. Photo: AFP
In addition to bridal outfits, they make bridesmaid and flower girl dresses for canine members of the wedding party and tuxedos and bow ties for male dogs.

The Crosiers also make pyjamas and fleece coats. Prices range from US$15 to US$60, and their website offers sales and coupons.

Last year the couple added rhinestone collars in a wide array of colours. They’re US$20 for small dogs and US$30 for larger ones.

The Crosiers do most of their selling on the internet but also do good business at pet expos, where customers can try the clothes on their pets. At such shows, the Crosiers are able to measure pets for a custom fit. Fluffy or Fido will get the outfit in the mail in about a week.

Dean Crosier works full time. Suzanne recently retired from her hospital nursing job to work on their growing business. She does all of the sewing and embroidering. He cuts patterns, makes the jewelled collars and handles the packing and shipping.

The business has customers from all over the US as well as Canada, Australia, China, South Korea and Britain.

Yorkshire terriers, Maltese, Shih Tzu, poodles, cocker spaniels and pugs appear to be their best customers, but the couple said they can tailor for most breeds.

Hongkongers like dressing up their pets too, as this entrant in a Hong Kong Pet Show 2014 contest shows.
The models on their website and Facebook page are the Crosiers’ dogs: three Yorkshire terriers - Tootsie, four, Boomer, 11 months, and Trixie, 19 weeks old - and a Chihuahua-papillon mix named Ozzie, five.

Boomer and Ozzie are males and model hoodies and denim overalls that were added to the line when customers demanded more clothes for male pets.

The popular denim overalls cost US$30 and “are a lot more work than the dresses”, Suzanne said.

Most of the chic boutique dresses are for dogs weighing 15kg or less. But adjustments can be made to the patterns – lengthened for the long bodies of dachshunds, for instance. Patterns have been modified to fit two 30kg bulldogs and for a smallish Labrador retriever that “works” in a day care centre, Suzanne said.

The dog dresses are so beautiful that the Crosiers often are asked if the same dresses can be made for customers’ children and grandchildren.

“I tell them, ’No, not unless you want their butts to hang out’,” Suzanne said.

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