Style Report: It’s ON like Donkey Kong

A couple of months ago, I was at a party when a complete stranger ran up to me, embraced me like an old friend, and said, “ANTHRO!”

I startled, thinking for a moment she said “ANTHRAX!” but then I realized she was referring to Anthropologie, the store where I bought the dress. That was my introduction into The Madness.

I didn’t realize Anthropologie was not a store but a sisterhood, whose induction requires only the purchase of an overpriced but adorable piece of clothing, and then they have you. This woman leaned over like a dealer peddling her illicit feathery wares and murmured to me the name of a blog, to which I am now somewhat addicted but I won’t say what it is because I’m afraid my husband will block it if he finds out because it’s leading me down a dark path. In this, a woman goes to the store, tries on items in the dressing room, takes pictures with her iphone in the dressing room and posts reviews. I find it strangely compelling.

There is a whole group of these bloggers, like Fight Club except it’s cardigans and pleated skirts. They all wear boots and pose with one foot turned in like they have to go to the bathroom, looking longingly off to the side of the camera while twirling their hair in their fingers. The motivated ones find graffiti to pose in front of and use soft focus effects.

Now here’s my conundrum: I like those Emma Pillsbury-esque clothes. I do. But I also like clothes with animals on it. Big surprise there. Unfortunately when people design clothes with animals, and dogs and cats in particular, it tends to be something like this:

To which I lovingly refer as the “Bea(gle) Arthur”;

Or this:

For which there simply are no words.

Aside from that belt I posted a while back, I have not had a great deal of luck finding clothing that allows me to express my animal loving self without also expressing my complete obliviousness to taste or style. I know I have to be missing something here.

I’m also torn because some of this stuff is so bad it’s good. I was going to ask you all to find me the best animal related fashion out there, but I kind of want to find the worst. I want to find the worst, and style it like one of those bloggers with the wistful glances and the boots. I told my husband this and he said “Are you out of your mind?” which always means it’s a good idea, so I’m going to go with it.

I’ll go with both, actually. Give me what you got, the best or the worst. If anyone can convince April Winchell at Regretsy to loan me that fleece thing (she’s the reason it sold) I would totally rock it at BlogPaws.

It’s like performance art: ‘Ironic Displays of Non-Fashion’, in which I force the garment manufacturers to confront their not so subtle bias in thinking animal lovers have lost their minds and all they want to wear are embroidered cardigans and labrador socks. OK, so I have labrador socks. But not a cardigan.

Ironic Displays of Non Fashion Challenge

• Send me your links of awesome and/or horrible pet related clothing items (accessories count too) to drv (at) pawcurious (dotcom).
• Extra points if you actually send a picture of yourself in an item. It’s OK if you own it and love it. I still love you. I probably own it too.
• If there’s an item I deem worthy, I’ll wear it to BlogPaws in commemoration of my birthday, at which I can plead senility.
• I will have to locate an appropriate prize but I bet I can wrangle something up. Seeing what you all come up with is prize enough for me. 😀