Fashionable yet functional outfits for walking the dog

Before we brought our puppy home at the end of the summer, I borrowed a travel crate, sleeping crate and puppy playpen from a friend with an older dog. I ordered basic food bowls and puppy pads, and that bitter-apple spray that everyone says dissuades puppies from gnawing chair legs and skirting boards (it doesn’t; nothing tastes better than a nice corner). One Nylabone puppy chew, one refillable Kong; no further toys needed. I thought I was prepared, in a measured way. We weren’t going to go crazy over this.

You know how some people, before having their first baby, proclaim that they’re going to eschew anything garish, plastic or battery-operated in favour of tasteful wooden toys? And you, the veteran parent nursing a foot injury from stepping on the sharp end of a bleepy-bloopy robot that morning, nod and say, “I love that for you,” already making a note to order their angel the same robot for his fourth birthday? That was me. But with a baby Australian labradoodle instead of a baby human.

Because, the thing no one tells you about getting a puppy is that it’s a ticket into shopping a whole new product universe. Within the first few weeks of arriving home with Taylor (yes, as in Swift), I’d bought one plush sheep with a battery-operated heartbeat (so she didn’t miss her mother in those first teary nights), six different types of chew, 11 toys, one harness, three leads, two collars, two name tags (the first one failed to appear for 10 days; it arrived the same day as the second) and two sessions with North London’s closest thing to a celebrity dog trainer (he’s good). I’m only a little embarrassed to admit that when I went to pick up my son’s birthday cake, I considered buying a pupcake so the dog wouldn’t feel left out. I refrained.

That was all for the puppy. Then there were the needs of the freshly minted puppy carer to consider. Once Taylor was fully vaccinated, we were allowed to take her out into local parks and woodlands. My initial resistance to recalibrating my clothing choices for dog life evaporated the first time Taylor – the muddiest and most ecstatic I’d ever seen her – launched herself at me. An excited puppy jumping up to say hello when she’s dry is adorable. A muddy puppy jumping up to say hello is a recipe for endless washing.

I thought the idea of dog-walking-specific clothes was nonsense. Turns out, it was just sensible planning.

“What I wear to walk Max has changed quite a lot,” says Elle King, describing a similar awakening. The co-founder and design director of chic faux flower brand Ett Hem London lives near London Fields with Max, her two-year-old golden retriever-lab mix. “Everyone in East London seems to make an effort to look good while walking their dog, but now I’m very functional.”

In her first few months of dog ownership, she might have worn her good boots and Acne Studios bomber out. Now her daily dog-walking uniform is Lululemon activewear under a big waterproof puffer from Arket, with knee-high Barbour wellies – “essential for winter because London Fields turns into a bog”. She always, always changes into a fresh outfit before starting her working day.

Emily wears: Cotton trench coat, £595, Me+Em

Taylor wears: Webbing and leather dog collar, £81.50 and lead, £121.90

I, too, have learnt not to wear any clothes on a walk that I hope to wear somewhere else that day, just in case. (Taylor’s a good girl so I can’t blame her. I blame the mud.) Now I know to wear comfortable but smart-ish Hush tracksuit bottoms, gym leggings or cropped jeans – the better to avoid soggy hems in. On my wish list is a pair of fleece-lined leggings, for when the weather really starts to bite (see M&S Heatgen Maximum Thermal Fleece Leggings and Alo’s Winter Warm High-Waist Legging).

But mainly, I’ve learnt that suitable dog-walking attire comes down to the right coat and boots. What constitutes the former is simple but not necessarily easy to find: warmth, waterproofing or water-resistance (dogs need to go out on rainy days too) and deep pockets, to hold treats, poo bags, a ball, gloves, keys and other essentials. You’re going to want a hood (rain again), and a split hem makes taking long strides (or running) after a puppy much easier.

Uniqlo’s Seamless Down Long Coat ticks a lot of boxes. So do a number of Barbour’s shower and waterproof styles (I like the Natalie and Corey coats), Sweaty Betty’s Winter Stride parka, Joules’s fleece-lined waterproof Harpsden and Me+Em’s oversized cotton trench, which comes with a generously sized detachable hood.

If you’re a dog owner who’s been very, very good this year, perhaps you’d like to treat yourself to a Marfa Stance coat. They’re reversible, which means four enormous pockets for supplies, and you can button on different hoods and collars to suit your style. They’re pricey, yes, and “fashion” enough for higher-end settings, but at least one client wears her Marfa shearling coat to feed her chickens every morning. It probably brings a sense of occasion to the chore, which is never a bad thing.

Emily wears: Quilted jacket, £795, Marfa Stance and Waterproof leather boots, £380, Grenson

Taylor wears: Webbing and leather dog collar, £81.50 and lead, £121.90; both Mungo & Maud

Luckily the criteria for a good dog-walking coat overlap with features of the big coats everyone bought during lockdown. The waterproof velvet puffer I acquired for socially distanced walks in winter of 2020 will do nicely for frosty rambles with Taylor this year.

Then there’s the footwear issue. “The most important thing with dog-walking is to get some really good, warm, waterproof boots,” says Awon Golding, the head milliner at Lock & Co and walker-in-chief for Stevie, a Brindle staffy she adopted through All Dogs Matter, “who is a great dog and the apple of my eye”. For the past seven years, Golding has supported the charity’s work by producing the Haute Dogs charity calendar and Christmas cards. This year its proceeds will support Rushton Dog Rescue, a Somerset-based charity and sanctuary run by a mother-daughter team.

When Golding walks Stevie in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park (“sounds menacing, but it’s gorgeous and foresty”), she wears a pair of serious Tretorn boots, along with a good raincoat and plenty of layers. “Everything is weather-based.”

I hadn’t replaced my wellies since a sole came off in some mud at a music festival years ago, thinking I could just wear my weathered walking boots. They never fully dried out following a soggy half-term in Dorset. After searching for waterproof boots I could slip into without fussing with laces (Taylor doesn’t like to be kept waiting), I found a pair in FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council) rubber with easy on/off construction and a soft neoprene lining from Tretorn. Friends sing the praises of Sherpa-lined wellies from Holland Cooper and slip-on waterproof styles from Sorel (the new collaboration with Proenza Schouler is seriously stylish, if that’s something you look for in your wellies).

Also important: a hat, fingerless or grippy gloves, reflective strips for Taylor’s collar – and toys. Forget Instagram influencers; there are so many pieces of dog kit I didn’t know I needed until I saw them in action on Parliament Hill. Like those ball flingers, and cute collars and leads (see Mungo & Maud, The Painter’s Wife and Re:Made). And dog sweaters, and cardigans. And the only it-bag my husband has ever coveted: a dog-walking bum bag with space for poo bags and treats. Like I said, it’s a whole new world.