Why Do I Have a Frida Kahlo Dog Costume?

"Try this costume weird costume on Sisci!" And then I was handed...this. It's a pink, black, and green tutu with a matching headpiece adorned with flowers...and a unibrow. I don't think you can see the eyebrow in the picture, but trust me it's there. The tag identifies it as a "Frida's Assistant" Halloween costume from Petco's Bootique line. I had to figure out what in the world I was looking at, and now I feel ridiculously uncultured.

Photo by Erin Koski

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter famous for her self portraits. Plagued with health problems, she often found herself alone, so she felt she was the subject she knew best. She had some minor recognition as an artist during her lifetime, but was not truly appreciated until decades after her death in 1954.

Frida Kahlo painted herself with a unibrow. The eyebrow is a very distinctive. Inmany of her surreal paintings, Frida also depicts herself wearing flowers on her head.

I'm not sure when exactlay dresing up as Frida Kahlo became a thing, but Beyonce did it for Halloween two years ago. I found a blog post about artist costumes for kids dating back to 2012. Here's a Babycenter article from 2011. A blog post from 2010. Another page from 2008. I guess dressing up as Frida isn't just a new thing.

Apparently the artist's actual wardrobe had been locked away since her death, and was not discovered until 2004. They found some wonderful things in there, and I've had a lot of fun reading about Frida and her life. She was a woman who truly embraced herself, facial hair and all, and spent her life defying cultural expectations. That's something I admire deeply, and I can't believe I didn't know who she was before I got this dog costume. I wanted to share, in case you didn't know about Frida either.

Check out the Frida Kahlo artist page on Artsy to see some of her works, as well as information on past and upcoming exhibitions.

Treat Tuesday: Halloween Bark Bars

These Halloween Bark Bars by American Health Kennels arrived in our October Pet Gift Box. These are big, hard, crunchy cookies that are poultry-free and egg-free. They work well as a distraction since they take several minutes for the dogs to crunch up.

Good For: Handing the dogs to keep them happy while I walk out the door. Hiding around the house for them to find. Looking awesome. Decorating with festive icing and sprinkles.

Not Good For: Picky chihuahuas. High-value training treats.

How Much We Like Them: They're cute enough that I'd buy them again if I saw them. Even if it wasn't Halloween.

Treat Tuesday: Healthy Dogma Pumpkin Biscuits

The Halloween Pumpkin Biscuits  by Healthy Dogma arrived in our October Allergy-Friendly BarkBox. In addition to barley, oats, peas, and of course pumpkin, they also contain vanilla and cloves. Though not quite as amazing as the pumpkin pie Smoochers, they do smell quite tasty. They are, however, disappointingly bland to human taste buds. (Don't judge me!)

Good For: Dogs who will eat literally any type of food. Low value training treats. Hiding around the house for the dogs to discover. Stringing on wearable edible dog necklaces. Balancing on dog heads while practicing our leave-it command.

Not Good For: Super-picky chihuahuas. Little girl dogs who need to contemplate everything before they eat it. High-value training treats.

How Much We Like Them: Enough to lick them, apparently. They're really quite bland.

Halloween Costume Parade: Ru the Hot Dog and Brisbane's Lobster Hat

Happy Halloween! This my favorite holiday, and my house is decorated for it year-round. I'm pretty sure the neighborhood kids think I'm a witch, and I am ok with this. Brisbane,Sisci, and Ru aren't thrilled with the idea of showing off costumes in person, but they are happy to pose for pictures! I haven't made them anything new in a while, so here is what I found at the bottom of the costume bin...

Photo by Erin Koski

Ru on a Bun

This tiny hot dog costume was a thrift store find that was just waiting for us. I always knew Ru needed to be served on a bun. Just look at him, he's probably delicious. The hot dog costume just works. 

As a dog that wears clothes pretty much full time, Ru agrees that the hot dog costume works. It's sort of designed for the purpose of embarrassing your long-bodied dog, but Ru is totally chill with it. He has been a stegosaurus and a fairy princess before, dressing up is just part of his day.

Photo by Erin Koski

This Lobster Hat

I believe I bought this ridiculous lobster hat at Target when Brisbane was a baby. He hated it. Briz hates most clothes. He will, however, pose in nearly anything for treats. 

This is not the best design I've ever seen, but dog hats in general are problematic because the angle between their head and neck changes so much more than ours. The lobster hood has a couple of really obvious flaws. First, those ear slits beside the eyes. What dog is big enough to wear this thing and has ears that tiny? Not Brisbane. They're also way too far forward, especially for how much back-of-head room there is.

The back-of-head space is the worst part, the hood is nearly too small for Brisbane, but has enough space to fit a tennis ball between his head and the back of the hood. I want to see the dog that has that much skull back there.

Photo by Erin Koski

Combined with the weight of the plush pinchers, this flaw means the hood is going to slip forward over the dog's eyes almost immediately. Not so great if you want the dog to actually walk and function while wearing it.

But totally awesome if you just want to laugh for a while and then take it off.

What is your dog going to be for Halloween?

Photo by Erin Koski

Halloween Costume Parade: Purple Dragon Felt Costume

Continuing our Halloween fashion show, here is Sisci wearing a costume I made for my cocker spaniel when I was in college. The material is sparkly purple felt with batting in the middle to help it keep its shape.

Photo by Erin Koski

I recall originally having fishing line strung between the wings to keep them up in flying position. Oakley the cocker spaniel was the sort of dog who could chill in a room full of people and thoroughly enjoyed parties. She liked wearing clothes and didn't even seem to notice this costume so I assume it's comfortable.

The double layer of felt plus the batting inside makes it pretty cushy, and it stands up by itself. This was custom made to fit Oakley but has fit pretty much every 20-30 lb dog I've tried it on. Sisci's chest is just a tiny bit too big for the velcro to stay attached between her front legs.

Photo by Erin Koski

I don't sew very often because I find myself doing more un-sewing and mistake-fixing than anything else. Projects that would take 30 minutes without errors often take 3 hours. Most of my friends who sew feel the same way. We sew because we want stuff we can't acquire any other way, not because seamstressing is inherently enjoyable.

Treat Tuesday: Exclusively Dog Pumpkin Smoochers

These Pumpkin Smoochers soft treats by Exclusively Dog smell just like pumpkin pie. Maybe better than pumpkin pie, because I'm not crazy about pumpkin pie but just opening this bag made me want some really, really bad. These came in our October Pet Gift Box.

Good For: Smelling amazing. Not making my hands stink. Mid-value training treats for food-crazy dogs like Brisbane. Tossing on the ground during training exercises since they are easy for the dogs to spot. Dogs with allergies.

Not Good For: Super picky chihuahuas who spit out bacon, among other things. Treat connoisseur dogs that have to think about things before eating them. High-value training treats for distracting environments.

How Much We Like Them: I need to find somewhere to get a slice of pumpkin pie. It will probably be disappointing though, because there's just no way it will taste as good as the Smoochers smell.

Halloween Costume Parade: Target Cheerleader Dog Costume

Halloween is my favorite holiday! Since Brisbane and Sisci aren't huge social butterflies, I don't normally dress them up and take them out to costume contests. I do love costumes though, so I thought I'd share a few of them here.

Photo by Erin Koski

This Cheerleader Dog Costume was originally available at Target and probably came in three or four sizes. Ours is from a thrift store. It's a medium and the shirt part fits Sisci perfectly. It's comfortably stretchy and opens in the front so it's easy to put on. Sisci doesn't mind wearing it.

The pom poms are way too big for her skinny legs. To keep them on, I tied a couple of the strands together. She didn't mind that either. Sisci is a lot less melodramatic than Brisbane.

I'm not sure what the Australian Cattle Dog cheer is, but it probably mentions biting in there somewhere.

Photo by Erin Koski

The October Pet Gift Box

Our October Pet Gift Box was full of Halloween fun! I had canceled our subscription, but they offered me a box for only $13, so I went ahead and ordered one for October just to see what we got. I love Halloween, so I was hoping for a bunch of themed goodies. I was not disappointed. Well, sort of. Working at a pet store, and having attended numerous retail conventions, I know cheap toys when I see them. This time around we didn't get anything that looked like it came from a dollar store, but it's definitely on the value/economy end of the scale.

I saw some treats by Exclusively Dog on the Clean Run website recently, so I was very pleased to see these pumpkin-flavored Smoochers in our box. These are soft treats made with yogurt. They are safe for Brisbane's egg and poultry allergies. The card that came with our box says the suggested retail price is $10.99, but Chewy.com says the regular price is $4.99.

That little ghost popping out of the tower is a latex Zanies toy. It's not one of the nice foam-filled latex toys, it's the super-flimsy kind that makes really horrendous noises. The card that came with our box says this Peek-A-Boo toy has a suggested retail price of $8.99, but Pet Edge says it's $6.99.

The big green Frankenstein head is by Vo-Toys, a company that has been around since World War II. They're known for competitive price points and basically selling a lot of pet stuff really cheap. I actually remember their cheap small animal stuff from the terrible pet stores of my childhood...so not much has changed. Everything is made in China, of course.

There are a couple of Halloween-themed pumpkin Bark Bars by American Health Kennels. These are made in the USA and are incredibly cute. I might even believe the claimed price of $4.99.

My favorite thing in here is probably the Halloween bandana. It may be small, and made from stiff, cheap cloth, but it's really cute. I'm hoping it softens a bit with use.

Treat Tuesday: Wet Noses Howlin' Goodies

Our little box of Wet Noses Howlin' Goodies arrived in our October Allergy-Friendly BarkBox. The super-cute little cookies were shaped like pumpkins, ghosts, and bats. Halloween is my favorite time of year, and themed dog treats were a neat little detail.

Good For: Sticking inside Kongs. Smearing with peanut butter and hiding inside puzzle like the Yin-Yang-Yum for extra motivation.

Not Good For: Breaking into smaller pieces. These things are seriously dense.

How Much We Like Them: They were gone within a day of opening the box.

The October Allergy-Friendly BarkBox

This month's allergy-friendly BarkBox finally arrived, and it's a spooky one! I love Halloween, so this is a theme I thoroughly enjoy. Everything is Brisbane-safe this month, with no chicken, turkey, duck, or eggs. This month we got a couple of interesting new cards in our box, the first was a little note "to the dog of the house" letting Brisbane know that one of the items on the "what's in this month's box" card was a little different from the item that they sent. The second was a Scout's Honor card describing the new satisfaction guarantee. From now on, if Briz doesn't love something in his BarkBox, we can let them know and either get a replacement or credit at the BarkShop.

The info card says we have a SafeMade Dia de los Muertos skull, but our Day of the Dead skull is actually from Dex & Penny. It's a crinkly, squeaky plush sugar skull with reinforced seams. Ulysses thinks it's pretty cool.

Uly also loves the Flash & Glow Jr. ball by American Dog Toys. It lights up when it hits anything, I can get it going just by slapping it into my palm. It's pretty hard compared to our usual rubber fetch balls, but it held up well when Uly decided to give it a celebratory chew.

We're already fans of the Superior Farms heart-shaped cookies, so I'm enthusiastic about the Venison Crepe in this month's box. It's made out of deer hide, and looks like an amorphous blob of rawhide.

I'm also pleased with the Hare of the Dog Rabbit Jerky Stick. I particularly like feeding rabbit to my dogs, and this company uses all-American USDA-inspected bunnies. Also made in America are the Wet Noses Howlin' Goodies pumpkin biscuits.

The final goody in our box is a bag of Max & Ruffy's Mother Quinoa's Pumpkin Patch treats. Both these and the Wet Noses cookies are made from pumpkin. The Max and Ruffy's biscuits are also vegan.