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Pet Boutique History

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By Cynthia Waldenmaier

It is the one year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers which triggered the financial meltdown that rippled across the globe. We mark anniversaries to look back at where we were a year ago, reflect on where we’ve ended up, and celebrate.

A dog collar found in the tomb of Ancient Egyptian nobleman Maiherpri.

Celebrate? The pet industry has been put to the test during this period like never before, and I say it is time to celebrate if your pet boutique has managed to charter the rough waters of the economic slow-down and stay on course. Sadly, many pet boutiques have closed their doors.

The good news is that retailers that survive the recession will be stronger and more profitable than ever before. As the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” Cash flow and inventory planning have been crucial to survival. Every buying decision carries a level of risk, but the current economic climate is far less forgiving. The bottom line is: there has been very little room to make mistakes. These challenges forced all pet boutique owners to become better merchants and fiscal managers.

Evidence that signs of an economic recovery might be on the way is definitely a reason to celebrate. New U.S. housing starts and permits rose in August to their highest level in nine months and the number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell last week. That’s reason to be cautiously optimistic!

The best news for pet boutiques is that pet fashions and accessories are here to stay. The media too often refers to pet fashions as a “trend or fad” in our industry. I believe they might need to brush up on their history, because pet style has never been out of fashion.

The notion that the “humanization” of pets is a new trend is a false one. We have had canine companions dating back at least 12,000 years and dog collars have been in use prior to 3100 B.C. Archaeologists unearthed a dog buried with the pre-dynastic King Cuo of China wearing a collar of gold, silver, and turquoise.

By the peak of ancient Egyptian civilization, collars and leashes were standard for dog training and dogs wearing them were commonly found as motifs on tomb walls, and earthenware. The dog collars of the day were beautiful works of art with most appearing to be of leather, with copper, bronze and gold added for emphasis or structure. The collars were made in one long strip, and then glued or sewn together.

The very fashionable collar above was one of two discovered by the French explorer Loret in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian nobleman Maiherpri (1440 B.C.). The two leather collars were “pinkish-colored.” (Pink! Always in fashion, who knew?) Both depicted hunting scenes embossed into the leather with one of the collars featuring the dog's name: “Tantanuit.”

In Ancient Rome “doggy devotion” was so intense that Caesar reportedly had to publicly reprimand citizens for paying more attention to their dogs than to their children. (60-44 BC)

The excavation of Pompeii provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. The “Pompeii Dog,” frozen at the moment it was buried in ash and pumice from the eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius, is a fine example of the continued devotion between a dog and its owner. The dog's collar was examined with infra-red, and it was found to be inscribed with a message documenting the dog heroically saving his owner from a wolf attack. (AD 79)

Throughout history the royal courts determined the social customs and fashions of the day. Their pets were the most loyal of all subjects and no expense was spared when it came to providing for their comfort. Dogs slept in sumptuous beds (often the king’s or queen’s), ate delicacies from exquisite bowls and had their every need attended to by servants. Art, tapestries, early literature, letters and diaries depict the beautiful collars, jewels and coats worn in the period. Louis XI of France (1423-1483), a notorious miser, clad his favorite greyhound, named “Cher Ami” (Dear Friend) in a collar of scarlet velvet garnished with 20 pearls and 11 rubies. 

During the Renaissance (1450-1600), the growing middle class could afford dogs, and pets were no longer a royal or noble luxury. Collars of more affordable materials such as leather were the norm. Rings for leads and name tags began to dangle from European dog collars because the widespread dog ownership called for ordinances, and a system of dog registration and licensing was born.

With new technologies in the 17th century, beautiful silver, gold, and brass collars could be fashioned, stamped or engraved, and leather collars were adorned with sparkling bells. Collars typically bore the name of the owner, rather than the dog, for this was the easiest way to have your dog returned to you.

In the 18th Century, Louis XV (1710-1774) had a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named “Filou” (Rascal). The dog slept on a cushion of crimson velvet and wore a gold collar encrusted with diamonds. Louis XV said of his dog, “He’s the only thing in the world that likes me for myself.”

In 1833 in Britain, Princess Victoria wrote of her spaniel that she “dressed dear sweet little Dash in a scarlet jacket and blue trousers.” In fact, the taste for animal fashion in the 19th Century developed into a profitable manufacturing industry. The center for dog fashions and accessories could be found in Paris with over a dozen shops catering to pooches!

"Some think it criminal and grotesque to impose quasi-human practices in this way on these little cute doggies (mignons toutous)," wrote Paul Mégnin in his book Nos Chiens (Our Dogs). Mégnin was resigned to the practice and claimed that the place to shop for canine clothing was the Palais-Royal; "absolutely like Worth's or Paquin's." The fashionable dog had a costume for afternoon visits, for the evening, for travel, and for the beach. Some authors recommended canine underwear. For the beach, Mégnin explained, "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." For travel, Mégnin recommended "a checked cloak of English cloth with a turned down collar, belted, with a small pocket for the train ticket."

Jean Robert, a French author of two dog-care books in the 1800s defended the practice of clothing dogs, especially in winter. Clothing delicate dogs was, he thought, a matter of common sense. The maison Ledouble, 29 galerie d'Orléans at the Palais-Royal, advertised in Jean Robert's dog-care book, offering shirts, housecoats, and raincoats for little apartment dogs along with "collars of superior quality, bracelets, clips, brushes, combs, and clippers for poodles, and special collars for Great Danes."

Alfred Barbou explained in careful detail in his 1883 book Le Chien: Son histoire, ses exploits, ses aventures (The Dog: Its history, its achievements, its adventure), that dogs wore "costumes of a certain richness, pretty embroidered coats, silk jackets, warm outfits for the winter, light ones for the summer.” The wardrobe, the trousseau complete, of an elegant toutou (doggie) in fin-de-siècle Paris (end of the century) might include shirts, handkerchiefs, dressing gowns, traveling cloaks, tea gowns, and rubber boots. Dog collars might be made of gold or silver; they were works of art, according to Alfred.

Pet style has never been out of fashion, nor has quality. The human and animal bond will continue long after the current recession is history. Take time to celebrate your accomplishments over the past year, no matter how small.

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