MEET Scotland’s most fashionable dogs!
These seven stylish Maltese pooches have a wardrobe so big that their owner Fiona Gordon is running out of space to store it all.
Among the thousands of items of canine clobber in the collection, there’s an array of Christmas-themed outfits as well as Halloween costumes, raincoats, woolly jumpers and countless fashion accessories.
Some of the outfits have been hand-made in America and shipped over specially.
Fiona – who started buying dog clothes in 2003 when she got her first Maltese – has no idea how much she’s spent over the years, but given the amount it’s likely to be well into the thousands.
For Fiona, it started out as a necessity.
Her first pup had a heart condition which left the poor pooch more vulnerable in cold weather.
To help, Fiona bought her a jumper and coat to keep warm.
Little did she know this purchase would be the first of many as her collection of dogs – and their clothes – grew.
Fiona, 31, said: “Before I knew it, the wardrobe had grown very large.
“From shirts and jumpers, to coats and pyjamas, to hand-made Christmas dresses, made to size and sent over from America. Plus, of course, a new Halloween costume each year.
“It’s actually a bit of a joke now at our local vets. They are very disappointed if the dogs ever turn up ‘naked’.”
Fiona’s pack is made up of Floee and Mya, both aged seven, three-year-old Hamish and two-year-olds Angus, Theo, Ellie and Isla.
The clothes in their huge wardrobe range in price from £5 to £45.
Fiona, who dresses her pups “a couple of times a week”, said some people think it’s wrong to put clothes on dogs, but she maintains her pooches won’t wear something if they don’t want to.
She said: “You may say they are dogs, they don’t have a choice in the matter, but it’s quite clear when they are not willing and don’t want to put something on, so they don’t.
“I love my dogs and they are very well taken care of.
“I certainly don’t think that pampering them and spoiling them a bit is the end of the world.”
Fiona said some of the clothes have a practical use, too.
For example, little Isla wears pyjamas to stop her licking off gel used to treat her allergies.
Fiona – who stays on Skye with her partner Stuart Lamont, 44 – said: “Isla’s pyjamas cover her legs, which stops her biting, allowing her medication to work.
“The only problem is trying to get the clothes off her! She is so cosy in them, she doesn’t want you to take them off.”
Fiona shared details of her pets’ huge wardrobe after online dog clothes retailer UrbanPup.com ran a competition to find pups with an extensive collection of threads.
Managing director of UrbanPup.com Denis Kelly said: “Fiona has one of the biggest dog wardrobes I’ve ever seen, not only in Scotland but just about anywhere – and we supply worldwide.”
And, as Halloween approaches, Fiona said locals will be eager to see what her pups dress up as.
She said: “They have crocodile, elephant, cheetah, bumblebee and frog costumes.
“The neighbours expect them to be dressed up at Halloween and kids love to see them, too.”
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