Top Five Most Baffling Dog Costumes

I’m never quite sure how to feel about people dressing up their dogs. On the one hand (paw?), seeing a dog dressed as Darth Vader is pretty funny. On the other, the look of complete and utter canine humiliation in their eyes makes me feel kind of bad for smirking. However, in the world of doggy fancy dress there are some costumes that really make you stop and think (usually something along the lines of: “What? WHY?!”). Here follows a list of five of these; be prepared to do more head tilting than a Labrador at a dog whistle testing facility.

• Bride

You may laugh, but dog weddings actually happen more frequently than you might think. Some owners even go so far as to spend thousands of pounds on the ceremony, kitting out their pooches in designer gear and even providing lavish spreads for the ceremonies’ human and canine guests. This little number is actually rather well done and is a fraction of the price of some designer doggy gowns. However, there’s something about those little arms clutching the bouquet that I find kind of creepy...

• Scooby Doo

The weirdness of this outfit largely comes from it being a dog dressed as a dog. While you could argue that people often dress as other people, the way this costume is effectively makes it a dog wearing another dog’s skin (which, if you think about it for a little bit, is pretty weird).

• Mac Daddy

Complete with lurid purple and tiger striped fake fur as well as the obligatory bit of gold bling, this outfit is pretty pimpin’. But do you really want a Mac daddy dog wrangling around? Although the number of jokes you could make at the expense of any fine lady dogs alone would arguably arguably make this purchase worth it, you have to wonder just who exactly thought up the idea of making and selling this costume in the first place.

• Slave Princess Leia

I can understand dressing your pet as Darth Vader or even Yoda, but sticking them in a fake gold bikini complete with buns (which she isn’t even wearing in that outfit) is just mean. The outfit was meant to be humiliating for Leia in the movie, so surely this stands true for your dog being made to wear it for your amusement at a family Christmas party (though going so far as to say you are the Jabba to your dog’s Leia would be more than a little creepy).

• Sylvester the Cat

This is pure perversity. Not only are you dressing your dog as a cat, but you’re also dressing them like a crazed, psychopathic bird murderer. Okay, that’s probably being a little harsh; Sylvester is only trying to do what comes naturally. In fact, if you think about it, Tweety Bird is probably the more scary of the pair; behind that cutesy exterior clearly lurks the brain of a serial killer (come to think of it, the pair were clearly made for each other).

Eli McColl is currently writing for Ace Fancy Dress, a great place to go should you need Christmas fancy dress ideas for either you or your dog.