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Why should Humans have all the Fun

Barbara Nachman.

If Merlin the magician or Rigoletto the jester arrives at your doorstep tonight, you might want to rethink those Kit Kat bars.
Instead, you should probably just throw him a bone.
This Halloween, some of the most memorable turnouts may turn up on four-legged revelers, thanks to Eva Hallström's canine costumes.

Hallström, who lives in Hartsdale, creates her doggie disguises using only the finest silks, brocades and velvets. She adorns them with glassy beads and vintage buttons and hand-finishes them with intricate embroidery.
So when the doorbell rings, don't be surprised if you're greeted by a tail-wagging Henry VIII swathed in a velvet coat with tasseled edging, topped off with a matching beret with a jaunty feather.
There are no Spider-Man or George W. Bush costumes in this collection. Each outfit i! s based on a historical, theatrical or literary figure. The canine Cleopatra is dressed in satin and silk lame embellished with a bead-and-crystal collar. Renaissance pups pad out in velvet gowns embroidered with ribbons and studded with faux pearls. As for the emperor and empress, they're draped in colorful silk kimonos.
Clearly, this finery is designed for only the most pampered of pets. The costumes, which are made to order, range between $200 and $240. Hallstršm and her sister, Eleonor, the other principal in E&E Hallstršm, have whipped up close to 20 costumes for pooches. They are the latest addition to their collection of canine coats, sweater and robes, which are also made from the most luxurious fabrics and hand-finished in the haute couture manner.
"All materials are selected so they will not be scratchy," Hallström says. "And there's no Velcro. It sticks to their hair and gets really yucky."
Yes, humans have been known to ch! oose chic over comfort. "But not animals," Hallström says. "They want to be normal and jump and run."
E&E Hallström's canine clothing is functional, she adds. No fashion victims here. Like Diane von Furstenberg's signature frocks, they're easy-on, easy-off wrap-around styles.
Hallström says she also designs with an eye to current styles. Like Seventh Avenue, she's showing a plethora of fetching tweeds for fall and winter, as well as colorful shearling and supple leather. Still, she refuses to bow to fads.
"If the tendency for summer is pink, we don't have to do that," she says. "We have so many ideas that are our own."
Hallström says dogs love to play dress-up: "When they look beautiful, they know it."
Cats - well, that's another story. Which explains why E&E Hallström eschews feline fashions.
Coats, robes and sweaters that dangle the E&E label range in price from $90 to $160. No more than 10 pieces of any design are created, and each is numbered. Many are one-of-a-! kind. After all, wouldn't a pampered pooch rather be caught dead than confront another in the same outfit at the local hydrant?
Hallström, who was born in Sweden and grew up in Venezuela, recalls a childhood surrounded by pets.
"It has been always, always animals," she says.
Last winter, when she left her job at Random House, where she transformed printed books into e-books, she decided to combine two loves - dogs and fashion - with the desire to launch a business of her own. She works out of a restored carriage house, where she lives with her husband and two young sons.
The Hallström sisters have a long-distance relationship.
Eleonor, who lives in Florida, does much of the research for the glamorous costumes. In addition to those mentioned, she's also designed outfits based on the attire of Louis XIV, Lawrence of Arabia and Mary, Queen of Scots.
The fashions, which are sold at Karen's for People and Pets in Manhattan and ! online at www.ehallstromc.com, come in sizes 1 through 4, with Chihuah uas, teacup poodles and Yorkshire terriers wearing the smallest size and cocker spaniels, pugs and papillons, the largest.
For now, collies will have to go trick-or-treating as Lassie and German shepherds as Rin Tin Tin.
Reach Barbara Nachman at bnachman@thejournalnews.com or 914-694-5081.