Seven Questions is a section of Newsnibbles where we ask one of our

Twitter followers seven questions (duh).  Because we do it via email they are free to answer in more that 140 characters, which is nice.

This week we are catching up with the founder of ChaChaRocks, Aline Duriaud or @neckwearfordogs as we know her to find out more about her PET COUTURE business!! That’s right, Nibblers, she dresses dogs for a living. Don’t say we don’t spoil you!!

1. What made you come up with the idea for a pet couture business?

My late Pomeranian Rene, whom I talk about in the About section of my website. In general I was looking for a way to revive and combine my creative skills, which I’d mostly abandoned, with a love of dogs and a desire to work for myself. I took a business course mainly to take my mind off Rene’s passing away and it grew from there.

2. What would you say is the worst pet fashion faux pas an owner can do and why?

Honestly? Making a dog wear anything that it’s not comfortable wearing. I doubt that a Chihuahua or a Terrier is going to be concerned by whether his bandana is rural chic tweed or blinged up kitsch but if it’s too restrictive around his neck he’ll hate it. Let’s be frank, unless they’re purely functional canine clothing and accessories are more about the owner than the dog. Which is fine by me as long as the four legged customer is happy and at ease. That’s why everything I sell, even the necklaces, in addition to being ethically manufactured for a fair wage, are designed to be lightweight and easy to wear.

3. If someone wanted matching owner dog outfits is this something you could accommodate? As a pet couture professional would you recommend such a fashion

statement?

I’m personally not a fan of what Karl Lagerfeld calls the “matchy matchy” look on a human and definitely not on an owner or parent and a dog so I would generally veer away from identical outfits. I think complementary accessories can work if they’re done with style and wit. For example if your dog is wearing the chacharocks aqua and pink flamingo pop button bandana, aqua or another bright pastel colour nail polish could look very cool. Or you could put your dog in the pure leather red glitter collar and wear red lipstick. Little touches are all you need.

4. Pet weddings, aren’t they just a little bit weird?

As in weddings between animals orchestrated by their human parents? More than a little. Unless they’re for charity.

5. What three items would you never leave home without, and why?

My mobile phone, some change and my door keys because I wouldn’t get far or be able to get back inside without them. I should add, although he’s not an item, my rescue Greyhound Ronnie because he doesn’t like being left at home alone.

6. If you could interview anyone in the World, who would it be, and why?

Gosh that’s tough – there are so many worthwhile candidates! I’d like to say a great spiritual leader or contemporary artist but at the moment I would probably choose a Drag Queen as I find the glamour and capacity for invention of really creative Queens astounding, and slightly intimidating. I’d like to know more about what goes into developing that sort of larger than life character and how much of it is based on a performer’s own personality. And where to get all those rhinestones.

7. What would be the title and tagline of your autobiography?

I love The Glitter Plan but that’s already been taken by the Juicy Couture girls so I’d go with ThePits to The Glitz; The Life and Times of a Punk Ass Entrepreneur.