Pet fashion all the rage as owners bark, What recession?

awww those tiny little creatures

It’s a dog’s life during hard economic times. But Chihuahuas in a tutu? Pugs in designer tank-tops? Dachshunds draped in Swarovski bling?

That was the scene at the third annual Pet Fashion Week in Manhattan this past weekend, where despite a looming US recession, the world’s dog-loving fashionistas gathered to share ideas, market their products, strut a canine catwalk and raise money for charity.

At a time when department stores are suffering from shrinking sales of clothing, shoes and accessories such as handbags, those in the pet fashion industry are thriving, thanks to dog-loving elites and the buying impulses of millions of other pet owners.

“I’ve always loved dressing up dolls and Barbies, and I wanted to take it into something else that I loved, and I love pets,” pet-fashion designer Kameron Westcott from Dallas, Texas told AFP as her five-year-old Yorkshire terrier, Louis, peeked out of a canine carry bag designed by luxury fashion giant Louis Vuitton.

“Dogs need to be cute when they go to parties as well,” quipped Westcott, who runs an Internet web site hawking a range of Brazilian-made clothes and accessories for dogs.

“They want to feel elite and posh, just like we are.”

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