First off… Happy New Year to all!
Shantee partied with the humans in welcoming 2008. So yep, I just had to make her a Polka-dot New Year dog dress!

I got the black and white polka-dots cloth from my mom’s stock. And luckily, I also found a red chiffon cloth I was able to use as a sash/belt for Shantee. Why polka-dots? Well, it’s because of this Filipino-Chinese tradition, you see.

It’s a common tradition here in the Philippines to welcome the New Year with fireworks and preparing round fruits. The fireworks are believed to ward of evil spirits and bad luck, while the round fruits and objects symbolize money or coins. It’s customary here to wear red (which is considered to be a lucky color) and polka-dots so you’d “attract” good luck, prosperity and wealth for the coming year.

I’m not much of a superstitious person, but hey, it wouldn’t hurt to dress up my dog in clothes that would attract good luck, health, prosperity and wealth, you know!

Anyway, I made use of a different pattern for this dress—one with ruffled sleeves. But it was a difficult trial and error thing, especially when you have a very frisky customer The sash around her “waist” is made of chiffon, sewn with three red Swarovski crystal beads—I still have quite a lot of these even with the dog necklace I made for Shantee before. This dog dress isn’t just for New Year celebrations—the neutral black and white with a touch of red gives it a dressy feel for any party my dog would be attending.

My husband Marc said that it won’t be long when he’ll have to build a wardrobe for Shantee with all the dresses I’ve been making for her. Hehe. That’s possible, you know, since I’m actually enjoying making these dresses for our little furry girl. You just wait when I get my hands on a sewing machine!