Dressing Four-Legged Clients in Eagle Rock

It’s nearing that time of the year when fashionistas anxiously await invites to those coveted front-row seat events where they can don daring duds not yet at retail in hopes of catching a glimpse of Anna Wintour.

Yes, we’re talking Fashion Week, held in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and Milan in the fall.

But there’s one element of the almighty slave to style time of the year that tends to get a bit overlooked—Pet Fashion Week! That’s right—pet as in your furry friends.

A popular dog fashion trade show held in New York City in August, Pet Fashion Week is scheduled this year on Tuesday, Aug. 21 and Wednesday, Aug. 22. Although Los Angeles has yet to host a pet fashion week (our fingers are crossed!), we wanted to get in the spirit by taking a look at what Eagle Rock’s growing number of pet stores has to offer in the way of tiny fall sweaters, rock and roll collars, funny hipster graphic tees—even hair and nail styles for your cats and dogs (okay, canine devotees, we’ll rephrase that as and dogs and cats).

Here’s a sampling of some of our favorite fashion finds for Fido or Miss Kitty:

, 1916 Colorado Blvd., (323) 258-7625: Eagle Rock’s newest pet shop opened in April and has quite the unique section on the fashion-front. Cool finds include a wide variety of lux leather collars by Dean & Tyler ($37-$139) in brown and black with brass studs, braided embellishments, and more. If eco-friendly is your thing, Rock Dog & Cat has rocked-out collars made from recycled bike tires by Katcha Bilek ($24.99). Among the store’s sartorial offerings are little tuxedo shirts for your dog’s formalwear needs and Burberry-esque print visors and polo shirts (ranging from about $3.99 to $15.99). But the art collector in me especially likes the T-shirts for pet parents based on Shepard Fairey’s famed Obey street art ($25). “Obey the Kitty” is a distinct favorite.

Julie’s Dog Grooming, 1803 Colorado Blvd., (323) 258-5548: If you think this little blue establishment tucked around the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Argus Drive is just for grooming your pooch, think again. José Villa, the owner, has a great stock of fashionable items in the store’s small retail section, including pet nail polishes in various colors ($5), decorative nail files ($2) and adorable outfits, such as the Rock Star dress with leopard trim ($10). There’s a black tee that reads, “I’m a Lover Not a Biter,” and a Burberry-esque print mini-backpack ($5). Julie’s Dog Groomng even has $7 mini-shirts for the tiniest of pups (“Diva” for her and a hip-hop-vibed gold chain print for your furry mini-gangsta.).

, 1608 Colorado Blvd., (323) 256-2000: Even though I’m a cat owner, I felt compelled to walk into Puppy Love, which opened this January, because their decorative ceramic food dishes in the window caught my eye. Once inside, the store’s wall of doggie outfits kept me entertained for a while. The standout pieces include a dress with lace stockings for your little lady with the words “Shooting Star Lovable Dog” emblazoned in pink, black, and white ruffles and polka dots ($18) and little boy, sports-themed undies that say “Pep Pets” in blue and yellow ($16). If high-end gear is your thing, Puppy Love Pet Spa has a leather, turquoise Navajo-style dog collar for $80 that’s worth every pretty penny. (Oh, and they do grooming and spa treatments for dogs and cats, including massages and wraps!).

, 4374 Eagle Rock Blvd., (323) 255-5714: Eagle Rock’s oldest pet shop—it opened in 1967—has its fall fashion in already, with an array of thick-knit body sweaters in designs of argyle (correction: Arf-Gyle!), fall leaves, striking stripes, and more ($19.95 to $25.95). On the opposite end of the fashion wheel is a wall of black leather-studded dog collars, leashes, and harnesses for that tough, biker badass or heavy metal look. The small black leather spiked harness goes for $29.95. Of course, Hal’s also has a selection of fabric collars in sweeter designs such as hearts, stars, and ladybugs as well.

, 2626 Colorado Blvd., (323) 258-1355: Target doesn’t have the section of doggie duds that our mom and pop shops have, but they do have one style product the other stores don’t—the super-fun and uber-popular I (heart) Pet Head hair styling products. In an adorable bone-shaped bottle, the offerings include a soothing shampoo titled “Life’s An Itch” in passion fruit, a deodorizing shampoo called “Dirty Talk” in fruit fantasy, and “Fears for Tears” for pups with sensitive eyes in green apple kiwi. You can’t look good in the cute clothes if you’re dog’s hair is a hot mess, right? Also in line with human fall fashion are their on-trend polka dot dog and cat collars by Boots & Barkley ($2.49 to $7.99).