Just as there is a National Dog Day, there is also a National Dress Up Your Pet Day. The day is observed every Jan. 14. Humans are not the only ones who can sport decorative clothing and garb. Whether you support it or not, some pet owners can’t resist the opportunity to enhance the cuteness of both their furry and scaly friends by putting them in costume. And the costumes listed here aren’t your typical bumble bee or Beanie Baby wanna-be getups.
To identify the most outrageous pet costumes, 24/7 Wall St. looked at a variety of best pet costume lists from some of today’s most trending sites as well as Pinterest, Amazon, Party City, and Halloween Express.
Pet costumes can range from downright darling to even a bit zany, and dogs are typically the pet of choice to dress up. That’s not surprising, because dogs are the most popular pet in the U.S. Some 36.5% of all U.S. households owned a dog as of the end of 2011, according to the most recent American Veterinary Medical Association’s U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook.
Because of the popularity of canines among Americans, there are a plethora of wild costumes designed just for dogs. Cat costumes are the second most popular, but dressing up other pets in costume requires some additional creativity on the owner’s part.
Click here to see the most outrageous pet costumes.
Oftentimes, people develop intimate bonds with their pets. Two-thirds of dog owners consider their dogs to be family members, according to a survey conducted by the veterinary group. Some 32.6% consider their dogs to be pets or companions, while only 0.7% classified them as property. In another survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association, 63.0% of U.S. dog owners said they give their pets Christmas gifts. With all of this in mind, it’s rather intuitive to conclude that many pet owners care for their pets as though they are human, but this mostly applies to dogs.
There are several parades and many contests nationwide that provide pet owners with the opportunity to dress up their pets and walk alongside, or compete against, many other obsessed owners and their beloved animals. Contests, in particular, encourage pet owners to dress their dogs in the most ornate costumes, especially when prize money is involved.
Judges assess a pet’s costume based on relatively vague criteria, with requirements including originality, creativity, and whether or not the costume was consistent with the theme (if there is one). In some contests, pets are dressed in a variety of costumes, including movie characters, historical figures, and can even reflect a concept. For example, a lucky dog costume is a dog sweater cluttered with lucky charms such as a four-leaf clover and a horseshoe. Some pet owners even dress their pets as other pets, like a dog dressed as a goldfish, for example.
To identify the most outrageous pet costumes, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Pinterest, a user-generated platform that allows users to discover and save recipes, home hacks, style tips, and various other ideas. We also reviewed lists of the best pet costumes from sources such as Parents.com. Finally, we retrieved a majority of pet costume ideas from Amazon, Party City, and Halloween Express.
Source: Oliver The Golden Doodle / Instagram
1. Alf
Source: Amazon.com
2. Horse for cowboy
[in-text-ad]
Source: Amazon.com
3. Donald Trump
Source: Chelsea Guglielmino / Getty Images
4. Pablo Picasso
Source: Halloweenexpress.com
5. Whoopie cushion
Source: tortiethreads / Instagram
6. Minion
Source: Amazon.com
7. Puppy latte
[in-text-ad]
Source: Amazon.com
8. Peacock
Source: Amazon.com
9. Doctor
Source: Amazon.com
10. Tarantula
Source: Amazon.com
11. Dracula
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Source: CrazyFerretGirl / Flickr
12. Uncle Sam
[in-text-ad]
Source: Amazon.com
13. Squirrel
Source: Amazon.com
14. Sushi
Source: Amazon.com
15. Pizza
Source: Amazon.com
16. Oscars attire
Source: Amazon.com
17. Ghostbusters
[in-text-ad]
Source: Taylor Merritt / Pinterest
18. Superman
Source: Arata / Pinterest
19. Baked potato
Source: Amazon.com
20. Goldfish
Source: Amazon.com
21. Lion
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Source: Halloweenexpress.com
22. Watch dog
[in-text-ad]
Source: Amazon.com
23. Pinata
Source: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO, AFP / GETTY IMAGES
24. Snow White
Source: Chelsea Guglielmino / Getty Images
25. NFL pup
Source: Partycity.com
26. Ewok
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Source: Amber Beitzel / Pinterest
27. Princess Leia
[in-text-ad]
Source: Partycity.com
28. Freddy Krueger
Source: Partycity.com
29. Flintstones
Source: Alice Cali Cavy / Pinterest
30. April showers
Source: Partycity.com
31. Darth Vader
Source: Partycity.com
32. Jason Voorhees
[in-text-ad]
Source: Amazon.com
33. Sailor
Source: Amazon.com
34. Beetlejuice
Source: Partycity.com
35. Prisoner
Source: Barbara Carlson / Flickr
36. Sunflower
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Source: Halloweenexpress.com
37. Chocolate box
[in-text-ad]
Source: Halloweenexpress.com
38. Lucky dog
Source: Amazon.com
39. Police
Source: Halloweenexpress.com
40. Where’s Waldo
Source: Halloweenexpress.com
41. Beer keg
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Source: Must Heart Pets / Pinterest
42. Snake as the Mad Hatter
[in-text-ad]
Source: Halloweenexpress.com
43. Chick magnet
Source: O World of Photos / Flickr
44. iPug
Source: Amazon.com
45. Cowboy
Source: Halloweenexpress.com
46. Popstar
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Source: Halloweenexpress.com
47. Poop factory
[in-text-ad]
Source: Abby Chack / Pinterest
48. Dumbo
Source: Amazon.com
49. Pirates of the Caribbean
Source: Amazon.com
50. Ram
Source: Amazon.com
51. UPS worker
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Source: Amazon.com
52. Picnic basket
[in-text-ad]
Source: Heather Thomas / Pinterest
53. Unicorn
Source: Halloweenexpress.com
54. Yoda
Source: Amazon.com
55. Snowman
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