Bow wow! Bling for man’s best friend
Upscale boutique lets owners lavishly spoil their precious pooches
BY GLORIA STRAVELLI
Staff Writer

Dana Ujobagy adjusts a frock on her Boston terrier, Sophie, at her new Red Bank shop, Paw Palace — the Boutique for the Posh Pooch. The upscale boutique carries clothing, accessories and furnishings for owners who want their four-legged friends to be as fashionable as they are.

The miniature dresses, shoes and accessories in the window of Dana Ujobagy’s new Red Bank boutique are not only irresistible, they’re high fashion.

Inside the new store at 19 W. Front St., racks and shelves are filled with the latest trends in scaled-down designer clothing, accessories, toys and bling — for dogs.

PHOTOS BY SCOTT PILLING staff

Ujobagy is proprietor of Paw Palace — the Boutique for the Posh Pooch, which caters to the well-heeled, well-dressed pet owners who find it fun to dress their canine companions to look just as chic as they do.

“A dog needs to be as fashionable as the owner it walks with,” said Ujobagy, explaining the current rage for dressing small dogs in designer clothing and shoes, right down to fashion accessories like sunglasses and necklaces.

“If a fashionable woman dresses in clothing by top designers, then she wants that look for her dog, too.”

Open since August, Paw Palace will have an official grand opening Sept. 24 and 25 with pet portraits by Pinky and special discounts. Store hours are Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sparked by celebrity pets dressed to the max by their high-profile owners (like Tinkerbell, Paris Hilton’s Chihuahua), the trend to high-end pet fashions has taken off, said Ujobagy, a Sayreville native who now resides in Union Beach.

In fact, Paw Palace is an offshoot of the wildly successful online pet boutique she launched last year. Laid off from her job as an executive assistant, Ujobagy decided to pursue a long-held dream of owning her own business.

“I’d always been in the corporate world and had always talked about opening a business,” she said. “I decided to take the opportunity.”

By then the owner of Sophie, a Boston terrier, Ujobagy found it was fun dressing up her small dog but couldn’t find good quality, high-end items.

“I bought a collar for Sophie at a local pet store chain and in two days the metallic finish started to peel off the buckle,” she explained. “I got the idea for an online pet boutique.

“I wanted to do upscale designer things. You have well-known designers of women’s and men’s clothing. I wanted to do it for dogs. I began doing research and, lo and behold, a lot of the top designers have collections for dogs. I started attending pet trade shows — that’s where I found upscale designers that cater to celebrity pets.”

Launched in the early summer of 2004, www.pawpalaceonline.com quickly racked up six-figure sales and currently gets 1,000 hits per day, she said. The Web site features 1,500 items in categories including clothing, shoes, carriers, beds and furniture, bowls, jewelry, shampoos and perfumes, plush toys, gourmet treats and puppy nursery essentials.

“I really was surprised at the response,” she said. “Everything really took off.”

In short order, the Web site landed Ujobagy and Sophie on the cover of USA Today, guest spots on TV talk shows, and her Web site has been the subject of numerous magazine articles. Earlier this year, she scored a coup when she got a call from Warner Bros. asking her to contribute to celebrity gift bags to be distributed at the premiere of its romance flick “Must Love Dogs.”

Ujobagy attributes the Web site’s ascent in a competitive market to its extensive selection of unique merchandise and outstanding customer service. While other people were doing the same thing, she said, they were merely acting as middlemen, taking orders and shipping directly to customers.

“They never saw or touched the merchandise,” she said. “I was shipping to my house and repacking. I wanted to add a personal touch. I enclosed handwritten notes, samples. That really made a big difference.”

Having a retail store was another aim so that Ujobagy could expand the thriving business she was running from her home.

While driving through Red Bank, she noticed a “for rent” sign being hung at 19 W. Front St. and soon signed a lease.

She plans to move the online operation to the basement of the store so the entire Paw Palace operation will be under one roof.

Ujobagy said she decided Red Bank was the ideal location for several reasons.

“Red Bank is a boutique-y town, and it’s regional and the demographics are right,” she said.

According to Ujobagy, Paw Palace’s typical customer is a woman in her 20s or 30s who is immersed in college or career and does not yet have children, or a middle-aged woman who is an empty nester and enjoys nurturing and doting on a very small dog.

“Their pooch is their child,” she said, “and they bring them everywhere.”

She expects that, like the Web site, clothing will be the boutique’s best- selling item.

The shop carries “must have” styles from pajamas to formalwear by celebrity pet designers including Little Lily, Lulu and Hip Doggie

“Pretty much, we have an outfit for every occasion,” she said.

Definitely fun and decidedly upscale, there are flannel pj’s for $48.99 and velour tank dresses for $79.99.

Styles range from casual jogging outfits to formalwear, from mesh football jerseys to delicate tutus, from denim overalls to the classic “little black dress.”

Sized to fit dogs from teacup size up to 20 pounds, some clothing can be custom ordered for larger dogs, she said, and as a result of receiving numerous requests, she plans to expand the selection of larger sizes.

Paw Palace carries a wide selection of Lillyboots (in sets of four, of course) at $59.99, as well as collars and leashes. Accessories include necklaces and anklets, party collars, bows and barrettes. Plush bedding is available as are plush toys with tongue-in-cheek names like a Chewy Vuitton purse and a Jimmy Chew high heel.

Shampoos spritzers and other canine care products keep up the lighthearted wordplay with names like Bad Hair Day Dog and Nail Pawlish.

A gourmet treats section features cookies and cannoli for $1.99 and canine candy at eight for $2.99. The shop also stocks bowls, dog food, beverages and supplements.

Besides clothing, the biggest sellers are pet carriers, and Paw Palace has a large selection of stylish carriers for dogs that resemble purses and tote bags, ranging in price from $50 to $500. Other means of conveyance for the pampered pooch are puppy purses and pet strollers, which are growing in popularity, she said.

Future plans call for a puppy gift registry and gift baskets.

Though upscale, Ujobagy said she has made an effort to touch on all price points. “I didn’t want to turn anyone away,” she explained. “Anybody can come in here and pamper their pooch.”