pet costumes

There's no denying that when pets don adorable clothes they are seriously cute, which makes celebrating National Dress Up Your Pet Day on Jan. 14 a perfect excuse to invest in some new duds for your furry friend. We gathered a collection of pictures of sweet pets in their finest, along with a few outfits from our friends over at Etsy, to showcase all the cute options for celebrating this special day. Click through for some serious pet sweetness, in the form of everything from fluffy dresses to superhero capes.

Source: Etsy sellers WorldDesigns, finger story, EllieGraceCrafts, and lenapavia

If this year's Tompkins Square Park Halloween pet parade proved anything, it's that there are oodles of creative pet costume ideas out there. Who knows what you'll find when you turn a dark corner tonight . . . a Grinch? Spaghetti and meatballs? Mr. T? Google just released its list of the top 10 Halloween pet costume searches during the month of October, and while some are standby favorites, others might surprise you. In any event, at least you'll know what four-legged creatures to expect when things go bump in the night!

Source: Instagram User ecined

Dressed-up dogs of all shapes and sizes descended on Tompkins Square Park in New York City over the weekend for the annual Halloween dog parade, the largest of its kind in the US. From early-bird Thanksgiving turkeys to (bummed) Yankees fans to Fifty Shades' brazen bondage bloke, these pooches covered the costume bases and gave us plenty of food for thought for disguising our own pets come Oct. 31. Check out our slideshow for 20 original ideas for getting your pups prepped for trick-or-treating!

Lovely Lajatico, Italy, experienced an extraterrestrial invasion over the weekend when pugs from all over beamed down to this town near Pisa for the ninth annual Ugopiadi pug festival. Named for Ugo, the founder of the pug racing club Ugoclub, the festival celebrates smooshies from around the world as they participate in a parade, races, and this year's alien-themed costume contest. Check out the intergalactic fashion, and get some ideas for your pet's next Halloween costume!