Haute canine: Fluffy and Fido come down the aisle in style

When a bride walks down the aisle in her carefully chosen wedding gown, these days she may be accompanied by the family dog wearing matching attire.

"In the summer, I sell at least one wedding dress each week," said Suzanne Crosier, who makes pet clothes in the game room of her home under the business name Chic Doggie Boutique.

The dog bridal dresses can be custom-made to mimic the style of the actual bride's gown. Pricier ones often have pearls and other embellishments hand-sewn into the design. They sell for $25 to $60 and usually take one to three hours to make.

Crosier and her husband, Dean, have sold more than 800 dog outfits since they started in July 2012. Business continues to pick up for them and for other pet clothing companies as more and more dog owners — and to a lesser degree owners of cats and even miniature pigs — dress their pets in increasingly elaborate clothes and costumes.

Do a Google search for "clothes for dogs" and you'll get about 66 million results. Do a search for "handmade clothes for dogs," and results total 1.15 million, including the Crosiers' boutique and Etsy, a popular website where the Crosiers also sell their wares.

The American Pet Products Association estimates that more than $60 billion will be spent on pets this year.

"More than 90 percent of people consider dogs part of their family," said Mikkel Becker, resident trainer for Vetstreet.com. She said while the practice of dressing up pets is often "funny," she emphasized that clothes should never be forced on any animal that gets stressed when dressed.

"I started doing this because I thought it was cute and because many of the clothes sold in stores are poor-quality," Suzanne Crosier said.

The Crosiers make pet clothes for all occasions. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are the busiest seasons. The couple have had orders for dog dresses for Hanukkah and Passover, and one customer ordered a fancy dress for what she called " a doggy prom."

In addition to bridal outfits, the Crosiers make bridesmaid and flower girl dresses for canine members of the wedding party and tuxedos and bow ties for male dogs.

The couple also make pajamas and fleece coats, often with the logos of Steelers and other sports teams. Prices range from $15 to $60, and their website offers sales and coupons.

Last year the couple added rhinestone collars in a wide array of colors. They're $20 for small dogs and $30 for larger ones.

Dean Crosier works full time. Suzanne recently retired from her hospital nursing job to work on their growing business. She does all of the sewing and embroidering. When Dean gets home at night, he cuts patterns, makes the jeweled collars and handles the packing and shipping.

Yorkshire terriers, Maltese, Shih Tzu, poodles, cocker spaniels and pugs appear to be the best customers, but the couple said they can tailor for most breeds.

The models on their website and Facebook page are the Crosiers' dogs: three Yorkshire terriers — Tootsie, 4; Boomer, 11 months, and Trixie, 19 weeks — and a Chihuahua-papillon mix named Ozzie, 5.

Boomer and Ozzie are males and model hoodies and denim overalls that were added to the line when customers demanded more clothes for male pets. The popular denim overalls cost $30 and "are a lot more work than the dresses," Suzanne said.

Most of the chic boutique dresses are for dogs weighing 30 pounds or less. But adjustments can be made to the patterns — lengthened for the long bodies of dachshunds, for instance. Patterns have been modified to fit two 60-pound bulldogs and for a smallish Labrador retriever that "works" in a West Coast day-care center.