Diary of a Puppy Fashionista

Bonjour mes amis!!!! Je m'appelle Esméralda. (That's French for, "Hello friends!!! My name is Esméralda." But EVERYONE calls me Esmé.) I LOVE reading Fancy Nancy and sometimes just MUST say a few words in French just like Nancy. I'm also a dancer and puppy fashionista. One day I will be a supermodel. It's a hard job for a little dog like me, but some puppy's gotta do it!

My Mommy adopted me when I was just 5 weeks old. She took one look at me and fell in love with my eyes. She says they look like they are lined in kohl... just like the gypsy named Esméralda from Victor Hugo's book Notre Dame de Paris. (In English, the book is "The Hunchback of Notre Dame.")

Not every puppy is lucky enough to be born with such beautiful eyes. I don't need puppy mascara or anything.

Ever since I was an itty bitty puppy, I have LOVED to wear the most fashionable of doggy clothing, but there was a problem. My birth parents were a beagle and a cockapoo, but I'm the size of a Chihuahua. It is VERY hard for my adoptive Mommy to find me clothes that fit. (Chihuahua clothes just are not big enough in the hips for my beagle bone structure.)

LUCKILY, Grandma taught Mommy how to sew when she was a little girl. Now I have a full wardrobe of haute couture* that no other puppy in the whole wide world has.

*Haute couture is French for really cool clothes.

I belong to a doggy dance squad. We go all around Mid-Missouri showing off our dance moves and teaching about Dog Safety. Of course I have to have a special outfit when I dance. Sometimes I beg Mommy to get me a new dress for each performance. After all, I can't be seen in the same outfit twice. What would my fans think???

I'm showing off at a local nursing home. They all clapped for me. Sometimes my fans even ask if I'll pose for pictures with them afterward. Mais bien sûr!* It's like having my very own pawparazzi!

*That's French for but of course!

Last fall, I competed in the Paws in the Park Fashion Contest and WON!!! Mommy had made me a Tiger cheerleader outfit. At 12 lbs, I'm Mizzou's smallest cheerleader. A MU football player was one of the judges, so I shook my pompoms and did a cheer just for him. Everyone was VERY impressed.

For my 1st birthday, Mommy got me a liver cake of my very own. It had peanut butter icing and everything. We had a birthday party at doggy school and so I could share my treats with everyone... or at least all of my puppy friends. My aunts and uncles didn't think liver cake sounded very delicious. They didn't know what they were missing.

I also got a couple of new dresses and a bright pink wig. All of my friends called me Pawris Hilton for the night.

I destroyed the wig when Mommy wasn't looking. (It just wasn't the right shade of pink to complement my fur!)

Does your puppy need a pink wig, too? Maybe their's will go with their outfit a little better than mine did.

Halloween is for puppies, too!!! Mommy and I dressed as matching fairies for a puppy Halloween party. Sometimes little girls need to dress like their mommies.

Last October I got a brand new baby sister named Mireille. She is jealous of all of my clothes and keeps trying to steal them. Right after she came home, Mommy bought a pretty pink princess gown and put it on her. She must have made a mistake, because I am Mommy's Pretty Little Princess. I took the gown in my teeth and pulled on it until it came off her. I wouldn't leave Mommy alone until she put it on ME.

This is Mireille at her very first doggy class. Do you see how much I'm trying to help her? Sometimes being a big sister is a lot of hard work!!! Aunt Elaine gave us matching dresses so Mireille would feel special, too. She's not full grown yet and already 3 times bigger than I am. I now have both dresses. **grin**

Mireille and I danced in the Holiday Canine Comedians show. Mommy made us matching holiday gowns. (I still think I look cuter.)

My Aunt Lynn painted me and Sissy in a painting at the local doggy school. She said that it needed a cute puppy fashionista, so of course I volunteered. I let Sissy be painted with me. Aren't I sweet???? (Oh, yeah, and Sissy is kinda cute, too..., but I'm the cuter one.... Right?)

I LOVE to watch football and am Peyton Manning's smallest fan. I got my very own Colt's cheerleading outfit because I always start barking a LOT whenever the Colt's score. I'm probably the only Puppy Peyton Fanatic.

Mireille doesn't like to wear cheerleader uniforms. (She prefers to be the one playing the sports. Silly puppy!) I think she needs an official Colt's jersey. Too bad it doesn't come with a number 18. (That's Peyton's number.)

My cousin Alex is the COOLEST kindergartner in the whole wide world. He likes to play all kinds of sports, but for some reason his school does not have cheerleaders. My friends, Mireille, and I decided that we will be his cheerleaders.

Let's Go, Alex! Let's Go!!!! YEAH!!!!

Mommy does like spoiling me sweet and making a lot of my pretty gown. You, too, can spoil your puppy by making her pretty clothing. Check out these books for directions and ideas on how to make dog couture that will make all of her puppy friends pawsitively green with envy.