Yes, you can fly your dog-lover freak flag high without hoarding ceramic standard poodle figurines or plastering your car with bumper stickers that read, "Dog is my co-pilot."
The modern dog owner is a master of balancing quirky with minimalist sensibilities, and it
helps that there is so much selection these days when it comes to impeccably crafted accessories for pets and people
that aspire to blend both. The little collection I’ve curated for you today includes some items I’m currently
coveting, as well as my favorite presents for new dog parents and the ladies who wear their puppy love on their
sleeves (you know who you are).
Dog Starter Kit
Wildebeest, one of my favorite San Francisco brands, has come up with the ultimate "puppy warming"
present. Its starter kit for newbie dog owners includes an ingenious folding water bowl, a matching
leash and collar set with a clever poop bag attachment, two tennis balls to toss at the park, and a
carry pack for doggie day trips. The kit is made for dogs of various sizes and is an excellent
value. So far I’ve picked up at least three of these for friends with recent adoptees.
Handcrafted Dog Bowls
Berlin-based Cloud 7, brainchild of former Tommy Hilfiger and Liz Claiborne designer Petra
Jungebluth, has made a bit of an art form out of dog bowls and beds. On a recent trip to Dogster HQ,
Petra gifted me with one of her black matte bowls (each is handmade by a local craftsman), and it
was so beautiful I didn’t want to share it with my dog — it sits on my dresser and houses my
favorite necklaces.
Lucky Dog Swag Bag
A number of monthly subscription services for dog obsessives have cropped up over the past year, but
this might be the most posh. For $22 a month, the team behind Petswag (one of the best-curated
luxury pet stores on the Web) will send a bag of goodies pulled together with design-savvy pets and
people in mind. A portion of the profits from each bag goes to a new dog charity every month, so you
can tick the do-gooder box, too.
Dog Caddy by Vacavaliente
This little guy sits on my desk at Dogster HQ and never fails to cheer me up. Vacavaliente, a small
company based in Argentina, crafts accessories for the home out of recycled leather scraps.
SWASH London’s Fall Collection
My obsession for several years now has been SWASH London, a U.K. label whose logo and muse is Candy,
a gorgeous (and probably completely spoiled) whippet. SWASH always manages to sneak dogs into its
enormous silk scarves, jackets and bags, and its fall 2013 collection does not disappoint. On my
Christmas list is this scarf — ruff-donning animals and all.
Coatt Necklaces
We can’t all have four tattoos of our dog on our person (though I will confess, I do), so this one
is for the dog lover on the down low. If there’s a pet-loving lady or gent in your life who you’re
absolutely stumped on for a present, I suggest getting his or her pup’s name in Morse code in either
sterling or 14-karat gold on a silk string.
Boston Terrier Flats, Marc by Marc Jacobs
Bostons have been the "it" dog alongside Frenchies for a while, and testament to that is the little
fact that Marc-freaking-Jacobs deigned to put them on a shoe.
