How to shop for your Pug when you're looking for that Pawfect T-Shirt

Haylo Hooman’s and Puggies,

It doesn’t matter if you’re Hooman or Puggie, buying a new outfit on-line and finding out that it doesn’t fit properly when it arrives on your door step is frustrating. Even worse when you lose weight and your favourite outfit no longer fits like it used to.

I cannot count the number of times over the years I have brought clothing for my boys (past and present) and discovered on arriving home or opening up the postage bag that it is too tight or too long, or so baggy that I could fit Winston and Charles in the one t-shirt. This frustration was the catalyst for starting Pug Parties because it dawned on me that I cannot be the only Pug-parent out there that loves dressing their Puggies, that has Puggies that love getting dressed up to go out and don’t want to be restricted to harnesses alone.

So today I am going to share what I look for when buying t-shirt samples for our Pug Super-models to test out prior to making them available in our store. Plus, I’ll also share a couple of ways to make a t-shirt that is a little too big but could still be wearable with a little adjustment that doesn’t require a sewing machine or needle and thread.

When I am shopping for new products to add to the store, I have a few basic criteria for diving into the detailed description of the product I am interested in testing out on one of our Puggies; design, material, measurements, and colour options.

Before I look at products, I confirm the measurements of all of our Pug Super-models, so I have as accurate a guide as possible for choosing t-shirts. If you’re not sure how to do that, have a look at this video.

With the measurements, I then look for the following features at a glance to short list and then to return to and look for in more depth when I am ready to purchase. I am typically looking for a snug fit at the chest without causing undue discomfort to the Puggie around the chest and neck on dressing or wearing:

• Material – most t-shirts are made with soft cotton (also colloquially known as t-shirt material), but you will sometimes see tulle used; the important thing to remember is that the material give, or stretch, will differ between different types and will typically have the stretch across the body

• Potential stretch – cotton t-shirts will have between 3-4 cm stretch from seem to seem across the chest, and tulle can have up to 5cm stretch; this can make a big difference between advertised sizes as the size chart will not take the stretch into count
• Neck and sleeve holes – the neck and sleeve holes should either use the same material as the body or it is ribbing material which has a similar stretch to cotton. If the t-shirt has buttons or press-studs at the neck, even better for dressing and accommodating Puggie necks
• Measurement – when looking at size charts for clothing for Puggies, unlike “typical dog breed” sizing that uses the length as the guiding size, a Puggie guiding size is chest, and then neck and length. This ensures that you get a t-shirt that fits over their heads and doesn’t hang to the floor

Even with all of the above shopping tips, I still find at times that the pawsome t-shirt I have found will fit at the chest and neck but is a little long down the back and little Puggie tails are covered by their t-shirts. In this instance, I use the following fitting systems to make the t-shirt look like I always intended on styling it that way:

• Knot – if the t-shirt tail is long and also a little baggier than you’d planned (or your Puggie has lost some weight), tie a knot at the bottom
• Hair clip or scrunchie – if the t-shirt tail is too short for a knot but you’d like to tighten it up a little, grab a hair clip or a scrunchie in a complimentary or contrasting colour and tie up the t-shirt bottom
• Scarf slide – similar to the hair clip or scrunchie, and you want the gathering material to lie flat down your Puggies back, use a scarf slide in a complimentary or contrasting colour 

 

And, if all else fails and the t-shirt doesn’t fit or no longer fits and it can’t be returned (we take returns up to 30 days after delivery), consider giving the T-shirt to a fellow dog at play group or to a Rescue Organisation who can add it to their care packages when a they find their fur-ever home.

Sometimes trial and error is the only way to find the right outfit for your little Supermodel, but hopefully our tips and tricks make that process less hit and miss. I’d love to hear from other Pug-parents on their shopping experiences, tell us a tip or trick that you use to shop for your Pug that has or hasn’t worked.

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So, until next week Puggies have a wonderful week and look forward to seeing your adventures and photos on our Facebook and Instagram.

 

From Donna

Proud Pug-mum to Winston and Charles
Founder of Pug Parties

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Other articles in the Pug Shopping series:

• Nothing beats the feeling of a fresh new T-shirt - Read it  HERE

• How to shop for your Puggie when you're looking for that pawfect Dress - Read it HERE

• How to shop for your Pug when you’re looking for that pawfect Jacket - Read it HERE

• How to shop for your Pug when you’re looking for that pawfect Jumper - Read it HERE

• How to shop for your Pug when you’re looking for that pawfect Shirt -Read it HERE