Dogs, Vogue and a little Beaton

‘If it’s in Vogue, it’s smart,’ announced British Vogue in its first issue on 15^th October 1916. True to its word, dogs have been ever-present ciphers in the spirited and glittering world of fashion and art. From the miniscule to the large, these ‘smart’ breeds are an enduring testament to the role they play in people’s lives; in the general consciousness of those that not only need companionship but demand an augmented extension to their sensibilities.

It was in 1909, that the newly acquired Vogue first started to notice the burgeoning trend amongst society women of New York, Paris and London. Dogs started to assimilate the very merits normally attributed to dresses, shoes and hats. Indeed each season would bring about the new ‘in’ dog with pronouncements made by the leading arbiters of fashion as to what every self respecting lady should have; famously Dorothy Parker flippantly asked what would happen to Pugs now that the Pekinese were de rigueur .

The thirties which officially heralded the age of modernity initiated a fascination for larger dogs; the phenomena saw interest grow for breeds like Cairns, Sealyhams, Salukis and Afghan hounds. There was a frenetic need amongst women of a certain class as to who could outdo the each other in the bid to find larger and more exotic types. Each trend-however ephemeral –suggested a political underpinning; where the consumption of say- larger dogs resonated with the growing belief amongst modern women of their growing equality.

The Post war period saw a profusion of breeds proliferate and whilst the turning wheel of fashion continued to turn. There was a growing discrepancy between the exclusive dogs heralded by the elite and the dogs championed by the majority. It was the British kennel Club that records the registering of twenty-one Afghans in comparison to the one thousand Labradors and the five thousand Airedales.

The decline and fall of the British aristocracy and the erosion of the large estates had a decisive effect on the ideal of the larger dog. As the platonic ideal was diminished and England began life under rations- dogs became smaller, more economic and so this socio-political state fed into the general aesthetic. There was a demand for breeds like the Chihuahua and mastiff-short haired breeds and non-shedders like poodles which were easy to maintain and were congruent to city living. New exemplars of the day were catapulted to the public forum-figures like Jacqueline Bouvier, Gloria Guinness and CZ Guest. These demigods were an amalgamation of the modern, fast paced, liberated woman with nothing larger than a Yorkshire terrier. Forever this image was to be imprinted on our consciences and as stayed with us ever since.

.

.

The Lady, the Pug and the Maltese

The ingredients say it all: each constituent a proposition in grace and refinement. Whether it’s our mysterious friend or Lee Radizill, the Maltese or the pug- In their summation they suggest sophistication and class. The Maltese originally called the ‘Canis Melitaeus’ is renowned for its intelligence and sensitivity-the Pug-the more easy going and ebullient. Both are icons of fashion and chicness-both the accessible accessory of choice.