I actually made this spring time doggie dress for Shantee a few years back. She wore it for a short television segment on GMA7′s Zooperstars with child actress Sabrina Man (not sure if the show is still running now though). But hey, it’s spring time! Since I haven’t posted this dress on Dog Fashionista anyway, I thought this would be the best time to bring it out once again…

I got the textile and buttons from my mom’s old stocks. Shantee’s small, so she doesn’t really need much cloth for a dress. The upper part is made of satin, while the skirt a ribbed, stretchy print. Not sure what that is called, but I’ve seem this cloth in some skirts for humans.

The cut of the upper body is pretty simple. A darker pink satin is attached with a Velcro around Shantee’s tummy, a V-cut lighter pink satin around her neck clasped with a button. I thought Velcro is best to use for the part on her tummy, that way she can get fat and still fit it her dress!

Although I sometimes buy dresses for Shantee (there are affordable ones but still of high quality), every once in a while I prefer to make one for her. I’m no couture, but it’s good therapy after a week of deadlines at work. Kind of like arts and crafts! So no, before anybody asks, I do not sell dog clothes. I just like making my spotlight-happy Shih Tzu princess pretty and even more spotlight-happy!

I’ve always wanted to make a really nice gown for Shantee, but I honestly don’t have enough patience for the details. The most detailed dress I’ve probably ever done for Shantee was her dog wedding gown, but after that, the most I made for her are dresses that don’t really have much details. I don’t really know much about sewing techniques. After all, I’m just doing this for fun.

Luckily, our generous friends from Doodles Paw Couture (DPC) made Shantee’s “dream” of having a real doggie gown a reality!

I’m no fashion designer, but this gown fits The Dog Fashionista’s personality perfectly, wouldn’t you say?

I didn’t really know what to expect after DPC asked for Shantee’s measurements. All I knew that they would deliver an awesome gown, but I definitely didn’t expect they’d be able to make something that would really fit Shantee! Not just in terms of measurements, but also of how it would fit her personality. Shantee loves the spotlight (isn’t it obvious hehe), and could be a real princess brat sometimes. It’s such a pleasant surprise that they were able to capture all that and transform it to a gown!

The gown DPC made for Shantee had a fuchsia satin top embroidered with sequins and satin flowers, lined with silver lace. The layered pink tulle skirt lined with silver lace completed the look — a girly princess gown for a girly princess pooch

The gown doesn’t only fit Shantee’s personality, but it also exemplifies The Dog Fashionista website real well. So yeah, this gown is going to be Shantee’s “official” Dog Fashionista dress, something she’ll wear in events we’ll attend as representatives of this blog! Next time you see a Shih Tzu in a pink tutu gown in a pet event, you’ll know you’re looking at Shantee

Shantee’s custom dress is just one of the many gorgeous gowns DPC has made. They’ve done quite a number of awe-inspiring designs I never even thought possible. But best of all, their rates are very reasonable. I’m still practical when it comes to pampering my dogs — making things for them as much as I can — but sometimes there are things that I’m not able to make, or don’t have the resources to. Doodles Paw Couture is the best option for you if you’re like me — dog owners looking for affordable ways to pamper their pets

If you want to see more of Shantee’s photo shoot, click here to visit her photo album. Nope, I’m also not a photographer by profession, and we also did not have her photo shoot done in a studio. My sister and I just borrowed my dad’s background (our dad is a photographer for the Philippine Daily Inquirer), took out my handy DSLR, and set up a “mini studio” by the garage using boxes and natural light. Dad wasn’t really that happy when we returned it to him with little paw prints, but definitely beats spending a lot for a studio photo shoot

Doodles Paw Couture
Mobile: 0922-815-88-64
Email: doodlespawcouture@yahoo.com
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Oh, by the way… Did you know you can be one of the two winners of Php400 worth of gift certificates, or one lucky winner of Php200 gift certificate PLUS a customized pet outfit designed specially for your pooch worth Php2,500 by Doodles Paw Couture? Check out Kubrick’s 11-11-11 Online Birthday Bash and see what else is in store for you!

That’s Shantee’s summer “office girl” look — conservative cuts but with the bright hues of summer. It’s the same dress she wore during her TV shoots with the Kulilits and Zooperstars crew. The summery colors just looked great on TV!

We got this dog dress from a shop in Tiendesitas for about Php150-200. I can’t remember the exact amount, but I do remember it being on sale. Shantee just loves it!!!

Of course, I made Shantee a gown. I couldn’t let her “walk down the aisle” an under-dressed bride!

The gown I made Shantee was made of scrap white satin and lace my mom had lying around. I added some bead and organza trimmings I bought from Carolina’s at SM Megamall just a few days back. I initially intended those trimmings for a different dog dress of Shantee’s, but it seemed more appropriate for this one—it made the dog wedding gown the accent it needed. Offhand, I can say that this is probably the most complicated dog dress I ever made for Shantee, even more complicated than her Christmas dog dress, or polka-dot New Year dog dress. But that’s still not the best thing about it…

I made it look like my own wedding gown!

I didn’t have time to design a really complicated one (my sister Joyce and I decided we’d dress Shantee up for the “wedding” just three days before the event), so I just settled for something similar to my own—something that looks very intricate, but really isn’t. Besides, isn’t it cute that we had the same gown?

Here’s the little bridezilla throwing a tantrum just before she got “married.”

She got really pissed when I left her on that chair to admire and take pictures of Gov. Chavit Singson’s mini horses. Shantee’s very jealous, you know

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!