- Tika is a 9-year-old Italian greyhound whose owner started a fashion-forward Instagram page in 2016.
- The page is filled with photos of Tika in fabulous yet comfortable outfits.
- Insider spoke to Tika's owner about the dog's style and why he calls her a gay icon.
What is it about seeing a dog wearing a fabulous outfit that just makes you want to keep scrolling for more of their fashionable photos?
That's the first thought that came to mind when stumbling upon @tikatheiggy on Instagram. Tika is a 9-year-old Italian greyhound whose wardrobe is filled with bright colors, sequins, and fun prints.
"It's very important that not only does she look good but feels good too," Thomas Shapiro, a software developer in Canada and Tika's owner, told Insider. "It's a mix of fashion and practicality, which is what everyone should strive for."
Shapiro started Tika's account in 2016 after realizing that strangers were finding and liking pictures he had posted of her on his personal Instagram
"What separates her from a lot of other dog accounts is that people really got to know who Tika was," Shapiro explained. "I really make sure her personality shines through in the captions, her face, and what she's wearing so people know who she is and what she stands for."
"For me, it's always been just for fun," he said.
Something else that makes Tika's page stand out among other Instagram-famous dogs is her wardrobe that's made up almost entirely of custom-made outfits. Shapiro admitted that although he has zero experience in fashion, he loves to work with designers on creating outrageous and colorful outfits for Tika that she will still be comfortable in.
"She's a blank canvas for a lot of designers. We really get to go ham and reach for the stars when it comes to designs and colors," he said. "She will wear anything that she's comfortable in. If she's not comfortable, it will show in the photos and ruin it for everyone."
One specific outfit Shapiro mentioned that looks like it might be bothersome for Tika to wear is a Hound Around silver sequined dress. However, Shapiro explained that it was designed with wool lining on the inside so the sequins wouldn't bother Tika's skin.
"We've been able to explore different types of looks on her so that we can mix between having fun with the fashion and looks while keeping it usable on a daily basis," he said.
Another standout piece Shapiro likes to dress Tika in when it's extra cold in Canada is a pink faux-fur look from Hound Around.
"One thing that we love about Tika's wardrobe is that it's so colorful, and she gets everyone doing a double take," he said.
Although a lot of Tika's clothes are what Shapiro describes as "haute couture athleisure," he says her favorite thing to wear is a fleece onesie with a long snood at the top to cover her head, just like the LOKO Pet Apparel onesie she wore in a photo recently shared on Instagram.
When she's not dressed up in clothing, Shapiro still likes Tika to look fabulous in necklaces and fashion-forward collars
"She's got a lot of different-colored collars that are a statement piece," he said. "No matter what, she always has something bright and colorful on."
Since starting the page in 2016, Tika's following has grown to 188,000 and counting. For Shapiro, it's important to keep the audience on their toes when it comes to what clothing item Tika might be in next.
"We are always looking for new fashion statements. A lot of people come for how cute she is, but they really stay for her fashion," he said. "We always want to keep people guessing on what's the next thing she wears."
A year ago, Shapiro dived into the world of fashion himself with the launch of Tika Merch, a line of T-shirts, hoodies, hats, mugs, and more.
He also revealed he's working on a book filled with captions from Tika's Instagram page, which he started calling #TikaPoems.
"I couldn't think of a caption one day, so I wrote a poem as a place filler, and then it was a hit. People loved it and asked for more," he said.
Tika is more than just a fashionable dog though, she's also a gay icon according to Shapiro
"I know there are a lot of LGBTQ people that really enjoy following Tika because it's an escape for them and for people to come together as a community," Shapiro said. "I always say that she's a gay icon because she represents that love is love and that's the message we want people to get from the page."
"She's a queen for the people," he added.
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