Posted on 10/31/2006 1:51:58 AM PST by Mrs Ivan
If you want to play with the stars, get a toy dog. Adam Edwards examines the soaring popularity of the miniature four-legged fashion accessory
A dog is the new designer accessory. Not the slobbering, tail-wagging, stick-retrieving mutt that would chase rather than grace a catwalk. But the canine arm-candy with gobstopper eyes and a sherbet-fountain sneeze that fits neatly into a Fendi baguette handbag.
The toy dog, in particular the Chihuahua (named after the Mexican state), is the latest fashion to cross the Atlantic. Sales have rocketed in Britain in the past two years, while the cost of buying one has tripled in 12 months.
"I have seen ups and downs in the popularity of Chihuahuas in the past three decades, but this time it is different," says Susan Lee, secretary of Britain's long-haired Chihuahua club. "I recently drove over the Hammersmith flyover and there was a billboard with a huge picture of a Chihuahua with the slogan 'today's must-have accessory'. Stars are buying them because they look cute and the public is following suit. Eighteen months ago it was possible to buy one for £500. Now the dogs are advertised on the internet for about £1,500 and Harrods is selling them for over £3,000."
The Chihuahua's miniature brothers in crooked arms - the Pomeranian, Pekinese, Maltese, Bichon frisé and Yorkshire terrier - are also being "Guccified", while cross-breeds the size of clutch bags are, literally, walking off the shelves.
It is the cult of celebrity that is driving the market for the lapdog, according to Ryan O'Meara, editor-in-chief of K9 Magazine, Britain's only lifestyle magazine for dog owners. "People, particularly teenage girls, want to own the toy dogs that have been popularised by the rich and famous," he says.
Leading that trendy pack of influential owners is Paris Hilton, who two years ago appeared on the cover of the US edition of Seventeen magazine with her Chihuahua Tinkerbelle. As a result, Chihuahua made the top-10 list of registered dogs in the US for the first time in history and Hilton has been asked to host a television reality show this autumn called America's Cutest Puppies. Fellow US celebrities, among them Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Venus Williams, Reese Witherspoon and Pamela Anderson, have since been parading their miniature mutts to an adoring public.
In Britain, it is Madonna who has led the fashion crowd, with her Chihuahua called Chiquita. Cheryl Tweedie, a singer with the pop group Girls Aloud, appears to be the celebrity cheerleader for the breed, while Rod Stewart's fiancée, Penny Lancaster, is pictured on the front of next year's"Pet Pawtraits" calendar in aid of the animal charity PDSA holding-up her two Chihuahua lapdogs.
The ubiquitous Jordan also has a Chihuahua, Sharon Osbourne has a Pomeranian (and somebody to pick up after it), the former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell coos to her Shih Tzu, the reality-show star Lady Isabella Hervey has a Maltese in her handbag, while the violinist Vanessa Mae is frequently pictured with her Shar Pei. The fashion has even spread to the macho world of footballers. David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, owned a Shar Pei until recently, while Wayne Rooney and his girlfriend, Coleen McLoughlin, have three Bichon Frisés.
"There is nothing new about the public wanting the same dog as famous dog-owners," says O'Meara.
"In the last century, the Royal Family owned miniature Japanese Chins, which used to be known as Japanese spaniels, and everyone aspired to have one. In the 1950s, when the Queen came to the throne, people wanted Corgis. Now the public is more interested in celebrities."
Many in the toy dog fraternity do not like the fashioning of their miniature mutts. "It is not good for the breed," says Susan Lee. But the grumblings are mostly superficial. Even the Kennel Club admits that the sudden popularising of certain toy breeds has done no harm, as long as the new owners accept that it is a commitment for life. However, what is concerning the Kennel Club and other small-dog breeders is cross-breeding.
There is a new fashion for dogs such as Puggles' (beagles crossed with pugs), Jackadoodles (Jack Russells crossed with poodles) and the very popular Labradoodles (Labradors crossed with poodles), one of which stars in the Top Gear television show.
This trend has now spread to the toy dog world, with Porkies (Yorkshire Terriers crossed with Pomeranians), and "teacup Chihuahuas", one of which is owned by actress Scarlett Johansson, bred to be both pocket-sized and exclusive.
Yet, whatever the rights and wrongs of the cross-breeding of these toy dogs, the consequence of this star-studded love affair is that the pooches will be an integral part of this year's autumn fashion scene.
"There used to be a stigma about owning a little dog," says O'Meara. "It was a bit like owning a hamster." Nowadays, he suggests, it is comparable to owning a £2,500 Hermès Birkin handbag, a designer object that has, thanks to the lapdog, now been reduced to the role of dog basket.
--yapping little mutts , good only as targets--
That could apply equally to the dogs and their owners. ;)
I thought Madonna's pet was from Malawi...
A Shar Pei is NOT a toy or even small dog. It is medium size and can be up to 50lbs
A must-have fashion accessory...
Bwahahahahahahaha!
That's great! Gotta love Photoshop!
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