lifestyle THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2014 FEATURES

This April, 2014 photo from Karine Ng, the founder, owner and designer at Central Park Pups, shows Chewie, a 3-year-old Shih Tzu, in one of her dog fash- ion creations known as Hidden Harnesses, the Park Ave Peacoat, in New York. — AP photos

Pampered pets that don duds move to the mainstream

hese clothing designers have to think about pattern, clothing,” said Lauren Darr, founder of the International their desire for this product to become a reality,” company fabric and fit - as well as where to put the poo bags. Association of Pet Fashion Professionals in New York City. spokesman Michael Leedy said last month when welcom- TCreating on-trend outfits is a whole different animal “Before it was for a cute picture, now it’s more practical. ing the pet line for real. Its tiny puffy jackets, sweaters and for pet fashion designers, whose work is becoming main- It takes it to a different level, going from being a novelty to hats sell for $12.95 to $39.95. stream as animal lovers look to further pamper their pets. understanding how things can be used in everyday life.” The move made strides for the pet clothing industry, This Feb 7, 2014 photo provided by Dog Fashion Spa For some owners, it’s a statement; for others, it’s a way to Pet fashion got a leg up after American Eagle Outfitters insiders say. “When a company like American Eagle starts shows co-founder of Dog Fashion Spa Elena Volnova match man’s best friend; and sometimes it’s simply about received an outpouring from its April Fool’s Day joke this getting into pet fashion, it really puts a spotlight on it and holding a dog, wearing a matching cotton bathrobe keeping animals warm this winter. But it’s clear the number year. To raise money and awareness for an animal welfare brings visibility to it,” Darr said. For some pet owners, cloth- during a fashion show in New York. of dressed-up dogs and cats jumps significantly once holi- group, the popular retailer introduced a fake fashion line ing plays into a luxury lifestyle. Dog Fashion Spa in New day photos need to be taken. “We have gone from the kind called American Beagle Outfitters. But the joke was on the York sells doggy and mommy bathrobes, a matching fad of cute reindeer gear or ugly sweater to more functional Pittsburgh company. “Our customers were very clear about that comes as many spas and salons are building hers and “furs” facilities - one side to pamper the woman and the other to treat their dogs, CEO Elena Volnova said. Pampering and style is one thing, but function is also important. Karine Ng, the owner and designer at Central Park Pups in New York City, has developed several step-in coats with hidden harnesses that help pets get dressed without the hassle. Dogs walk right into the coat, so they don’t have to put their head through it. Her pieces are among the many that feature a pouch or pocket to hold unused bags for scooping up pet poop. Ng’s “city chic” styles, which sell online and at boutiques for $60 to $65, aim to reduce aggravation for pets, but she warns: “Never make a dog wear clothing if it doesn’t want to.”On the other hand, you might want to start dressing your cat now, Darr said. She predicted huge growth in feline fashions as retailers from 99-cent stores to high-scale Photo provided boutiques carry more cat clothing. “I am seeing more by American pieces that are tailored for cats. It’s still a small proportion, Eagle Outfitters, but it is growing,” Darr said. The movement comes as more Julianne Hough owners teach their cats to go for walks. Plus, “a lot of cats in takes a photo colder climates have learned to rely on sweaters, coats and with her dogs vests,” Darr said. Other trends she saw this year that she wearing matching expects to grow in 2015 include clothing decorated with This undated photo provided by American Eagle vests in LED lights to make pets more visible at night, T-shirts for Outfitters shows a beagle wearing an American Beagle Washington, DC. pets of sports fans and still more ugly sweaters. —AP Outfitters beanie and a puffer vest.

Rights groups criticize Weird museums: Travel off the beaten path

use of dog skin in China ravelers looking for something beyond top attractions like the Space Needle in Seattle might consider adding a weird og skin produced by Chinese factories is used to Tmuseum or two to their itineraries. Here are some sugges- make gloves, shoes and other products des- tions from among dozens of unusual museums across the Dtined for export, footage provided to Reuters by nation, from a funeral museum to an attraction devoted to wet an animal rights group shows. China has faced criticism wipes, of all things. They’re all worth a stop, but probably for its treatment of animals, including bears, whose bile shouldn’t be your only reason for buying a plane ticket. is used in traditional medicines. Tigers are also bred and killed, in some areas, for their pelts and bones. Moist Towelette Museum, East Lansing, Michigan People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it This free attraction next to the Abrams Planetarium at visited three slaughterhouses and six processing plants Michigan State University contains one of the odder collections in central China during a year-long investigation into open to the public. On two big bookcases in John French’s office the slaughter of dogs and the production of dog skin. are more than a thousand, mostly unused, wet wipes from Reuters confirmed the use of dog skin during a visit around the world. The “celebrity wing” of the collection includes to an open-air leather processing workshop in the a used wipe donated by “Car Talk” hosts Ray and the late Tom northern province of Hebei, where workers stretched Magliozzi. French, who is also the planetarium’s production washed dog skins, to dry in the sun. With dog meat coordinator, says the collection includes wipes from a sumo restaurants popular in many parts of the country, sever- wrestling event in Japan and from the former Trump’s Castle in al establishments later sell the animals’ skin to leather Atlantic City, New Jersey. Why moist towelettes? “I think every- producers, workers at the Hebei workshop said. body just has an urge to collect something,” French said. The col- “There are restaurants that sell dog meat and peo- lection’s oldest item is a box of “Wash Up!” towelettes from 1963. ple that eat dog meat,” said one leather producer, who declined to be named because he was not authorized Dialysis Museum at Northwest Kidney Centers, Seattle to speak to the media. “These places have a person Seattle has many unusual if obscure attractions - like the who specially comes and collects the skins; they’ll go gum wall at the Pike Place Market. Here’s another one that’s a bit to each place and take a few,” he said, referring to the more educational: a dialysis museum. The Northwest Kidney Connie Anderson, vice president of clinical services at Northwest Kidney Centers, explains how the Kolff-Brigham producers. “It happens all over the country.” Centers opened the free museum two years ago to celebrate its rotating drum artificial kidney machine works. — AP photos Officials of the quasi-governmental China Leather 50th anniversary as a pioneering medical treatment center. cipher device in the world. A display on biometrics gives a win- quist dummies, thousands of photographs of famous per- Industry Association declined to be interviewed, say- People who find old medical devices intriguing and those dow into modern surveillance - more focused on computers than formers and a library full of ventriloquism books. It also hosts ing they had no knowledge of dogs being used in whose lives have been touched by kidney disease are most likely spies. Two aircraft used for secret missions are parked next door. an annual convention of practitioners. leather production. The Ministry of Agriculture did not to seek out this display. The museum shows the history of dialy- Figures on display include a replica of the Charlie respond to repeated requests for interview on condi- sis through machines and photographs including some early National Museum of Funeral History, Houston McCarthy, who was Edgar Bergen’s sidekick. The museum tions in the slaughtering industry, which it oversees. hospital models from the 1940s, and home and travel machines This serious cultural and history museum also has a sense of has one puppet on which visitors can try out their ventrilo- PETA and other rights groups say dogs are slaughtered from the 1960s. Some machines were one-of-a-kind devices cre- fun, illustrated by its trademark - “Any day above ground is a quism skills. throughout the country, with regulations on animal ated with spare parts, including a “traveling kidney” in a suitcase. good one” - and its annual haunted house. Exhibits include arti- slaughter poorly enforced. facts from presidential and celebrity funerals, historical hearses And many more Dog skin yields a tough leather of generally poorer National Cryptologic Museum, Nsa Headquarters, and a full-scale replica of an embalming station from a Civil War This is just a sample of the unusual museums out there. quality than that of sheep or cows, but which is also Annapolis Junction, Maryland battlefield. Other replicas in the 20,000-square-foot (1,860- Dewey Blanton at the American Alliance of Museums offers cheaper to make. The plants PETA visited were produc- The National Cryptologic Museum, about 25 miles (40 kilome- square-meter) exhibit space include a typical Victorian living this list of others you may find interesting: ing leather for export, said Haleigh Chang, one of the ters) north of Washington DC, offers a glimpse into the history of room to illustrate at-home funeral practices, and a recreation of The Toilet Seat Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas. organisation’s representatives. “One owner of a process- American spying, from code books used during the a casket factory from the 1900s. The Titan Missile Museum, Green Valley, Arizona. ing plant told us they export dog skin as lamb skin,” she Revolutionary War to signal flags from the Civil War and decoding The Wrench Museum (farm implements), Marsing, Idaho. said, adding that lack of transparency on the part of machines from World War II. An 18th century cipher device, Vent Haven Ventriloquist Museum, The Mutter Museum (medical oddities), Philadelphia. producers made it hard to estimate the size of the dog acquired from a West Virginia antique dealer who found it near Fort Mitchell, Kentucky The Glore Psychiatric Museum in Saint Joseph, Missouri. skin sector within the overall leather industry. —Reuters Monticello, is a highlight. The curators believe it is the oldest true The Vent Haven Museum houses more than 800 ventrilo- The Museum of Sex, New York City. — AP