Chihuahua Fashion Moment: Vintage Evans Split Jeweled Collar

I found this little sparkly jeweled collar at a thrift store, and it took me right back to the late 80's. I've loved going to pet stores to look at dog gear since early childhood, and vinyl rhinestone collars always caught my eye. The hardware and general quality of this collar led me to believe it was a true vintage piece and not a modern reproduction. It was quite obviously worn for an extended period of time, yet the vinyl has not separated, and every stone is still in place. The tiny buckle has a rounded tongue rather than a flat tongue.

Photo by Erin Koski

I failed to google any information about this collar. There just doesn't seem to be any information about dog collar manufacturers of bygone decades. It's quite possible I'm the only person on the internet who cares about that sort of thing.

I had nearly given up in my quest for information when I spotted the same collar at SuperZoo. It was perfect, the same split center and rhinestone design, with the same ribbed crimp beads. Upon chatting with a representative for the company, I learned that Evans Collars has been around since 1957. They have a factory in Missouri, where they produce all sorts of decorative dog collars.

One of Audrey Hepburn's dogs wore a Dandy collar by Evans. They also made vinyl sailor collars that I saw in stores in the 1980's. They've reintroduced those, as well as this split design. I sent Evans a picture of my jeweled collar, and they recognized it as a design they made in the 70's and 80's. They just reintroduced it at SuperZoo.

As an added bit of intrigue my thrift store collar came with an identification tag for a dog belonging to a man who died in the area last year. I found an obituary that mentioned a different dog than the one that wore this collar. This leads me to believe that the dog named on the tag had passed, and that the collar was kept as a memento until the death of her owner. The address listed on the tag is for a home that had not been sold since 1977.

Conclusion: This collar is probably from post-1977, but definitely before the 1990's.

Second Conclusion: I'm kind of creepy.

Chihuahua Fashion Moment: Vintage Studded Harness

This vintage leather harness is remarkably nostalgic. It is similar to the studded harnesses seen on dogs in historic photographs. The harness is marked "Chris Sinn" on the inside, in faded silver letters.

Photo by Erin Koski

I remember seeing harnesses like this at the store when I was little. They were replaced by more ergonomic Roman-style nylon harnesses long before I got my first dog.

It's difficult to say how old this particular piece is. The fact that it has a maker's mark means it likely predates my memories of mass-market products in K-mart. I've spotted a few paintings with similar harnesses dating back to 1910. There are quite a few vintage photographs from the 1940's through the 1960's showing dogs wearing harnesses exactly like this.

My guess is that this harness dates from the 1960's, although it could be 20 years older than that. I found a site recently that claims they will send me scans of vintage Sears catalogs, so I've asked for some from the first half of the 1900's just to see what's in there.

Product Review: Mirage #72 Crystal Collar

The Mirage #72 Crystal Collar is a vinyl buckle collar with a double row of crystals. It comes in nine colors and eight sizes to fit dogs with necks 6-22" around.

Photo by Erin Koski

The Mirage Pet Products company makes assorted inexpensive pet products and sells them wholesale to distributors and retail sellers. They also do drop shipping arrangements where online stores can sell a collar without having it in stock, and Mirage will just ship the collar directly to the customer.

Mirage makes a variety of interesting and adorable collars for cheap. Brisbane's #72 is clearly an older model based on the shape of the post ring in the center. Ours is triangle-shaped, while the current model has a round ring. This hardware is for attaching tags rather than leashes, there is a ring beside the buckle for that.

I suspect Mirage has been around for a few decades because a lot of their products are remarkably similar to the fancy stuff carried by the local pet store when I was a kid. The vinyl sailor collars are particularly nostalgic. I found Brisbane's collar at a thrift store so I have no idea how old it is, but it has held up beautifully. I've found similar vintage collars that date from the 1970's.

Pros: Snazzy collar with crystals riveted right on so they stay put. Does not appear to age. Looks quite fancy but costs $30 or less new.

Cons: Might be imported from who knows where and be crafted from toxic metals. Pretty center ring looks like a deceptively good place to clip a leash.

Bottom Line: I had trouble deciding whether to make this a product review and not a vintage chic post because I genuinely do not know how old this collar is. That's pretty impressive.