Pierre Curden here for Fashion Friday.
While I’m sure my colleague Vera Woof would say, “sequins and bugle beads,” I’m a fan of reflective wear.
During the summer in LA, the only time to walk is when the sun starts going down. A good twilight walk could take you straight into dark. A well-dressed dog will at least wear a reflective collar, but there are so many more options. And a dog that cares about its owner would also insist that he or she dress to light up the night as well.
One of my favorite manufacturers is Boett. They use a reflective material that is brilliant when headlights, flashlights or street lights hit it. The strips are flat and easy to wear — no bulky lights. Plus it doesn’t ruin your night vision are you walk along.
They offer a variety of styles — Velcro collars, track harnesses, elastic harnesses, mesh vests and hunting collars — in neon colors with reflective detailing. The reflective material they use lights up brilliantly when headlights, flashlights or streetlights hit it. A medium sized, two-inch Velcro collar is $15.82 and a large , one-inch one is $17 from Amazon.com. Track harnesses run $27 to $33, depending on the size, and elastic harnesses — great for the purse dog set — run about $32, also from Amazon.com.
OllyDog is another company that we applaud for its style. Their 72-inch leashes come in nine color combinations such as sage/fuschia and eggplant/turquoise. The colorful nylon webbing has a silvery stripe of reflective tape for good visibility at night. The tape is a dull matte gray during daylight. It’s more flexible than the reflective material that Boett uses. An reflective leash runs $20 and can be purchased directly from the company.
And you can really bring the bitches to their knees wearing a matching (or contrasting) reflective collar. The reflective collars comes in three sizes ranging in price from $18 to $20.
Thanks to LED technology, another approach to night safety is wearing a collar or leash that has lights embedded in it. KeepDoggieSafe offers products like these, as well as reflective dog vests, bandanas and leg cuffs. Their Pup Protector Lighted Collars have both LED lights and reflective strips that work well for dogs with long coats. These range in price from $20 to $40 depending on how fancy they get. Reflective collars without embedded lights run about $19. KeepDoggieSafe also offers attachable lights (think bike lights) that can be switched on and off for about $20.
A nice simple option offered by Alcott is the visibility adventure harness ranging in price from $20 to $24. It has a chest pad with straps that go around Fido’s neck, with another set that goes around his chest. The collar and the chest straps attach to a band running down Fido’s spine. Not a lot of surface to reflect, but it can be seen from the front, sides and top.
Alcott’s $8 visibility dog bandana is neat and sleek and attaches with Velcro straps. Their $19 visibility dog vest comes in three sizes. Easy to fold flat, it attaches across the front of the dog’s chest and under the belly, and is adjustable.
There’s simply no reason not to shine at night.
Ciao,
P.S., in the interests of full disclosure, no free or discounted products, financial consideration or compensation was received for the creation of this post. It reflects our opinions and experience with certain products that we have purchased from the companies cited in this post.