Public88 : Fashion

I was recently surprised to learn that people have been dressing up their dogs since the Middle Ages. Ladies-in-waiting would show off their wealth at dances by adorning their pooches with pearls to attract the best potential beau. Even King Arthur, back in 520AD, was in on the designer dog wear movement ensuring his military dogs were equipped with spiky collars to protect them from attack, the more powerful the Knight the more extravagant the dog’s collar. Indeed, Leeds Castle in Kent displays a unique collection of historic and fascinating collars dating as far back as to medieval times. Many of the bejewelled collars contain some form of identification on them much like we use on our dog tags today. Spanning five centuries, the collection contains examples from collars used to protect hunting hounds as well as bejewelled velvet numbers for the more refined canine.

Adorning your dog with luxury items has certainly become the thing to do. Harrods hold their annual Pet-a-Porter dog fashion show each year attracting hundreds of fashonistas and their furry companions to see what’s hot for their dogs this season. And with designers like Ben de Lisi, Vivienne Westwood and Stephen Webster in on the act you know that dog fashion is being taken very seriously by those in the know. In fact, dog jewellery has even managed to break some world records with the creation of a highly extravagant 52-carat diamond dog collar hand set with 1600 diamonds! At a staggering 1.8 million dollars, your dog really would have to be something special. Fortunately beautiful, stylish silver dog tags are available Sterling Silver so your dog can still strut his stuff in the park without you first having to win the lottery.

Obviously as self-respecting dog owners you’ll want to ensure your dog remains on trend as it chases sticks and jumps into the river, but you may not have realised that it’s actually the law of the land in England to ensure your dog wears an engraved dog tag. The ‘Control of Dogs Order’ states that any dog in a public place must wear a collar with the details of their owner clearly displayed on the dog tag. And with fines up to an astronomical 5,000 for breaking the law you may as well treat your best friend to something that little bit more special. The very best dog tags are hallmarked and can be found in Silver, 9ct Gold, 18ct Gold and Platinum with either blue, pink or yellow sapphires, rubies and black or white diamonds.

About the Author:

Following the letter of the law, the all important engraving should be on the reverse of any dog tags.

I live in Yorkshire with my 2 dogs Sammy and Joseph. I’m a huge fan all of things canine. I’m particularly interested canine fashion and dog shows.

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