Paw-sitively Fabulous: Henri Bendel x The College Prepster HB Puppy Love Event

It's no secret to anyone that Holly and I love Henri Bendel (particularly her resemblance to their own illustrated pooch), and we were thrilled last season to discover all of their luxury dog offerings, including bowls and squeaky toys, particularly wonderful since Holly, as a rescue, doesn't always fit the luxury offerings for purebred small dogs, like collars and tote bags (she's more of a mid-sized sedan, or as a woman we met shopping said the other day "the biggest Chihuahua I have ever seen!).

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise either that as avid watchers of Gossip Girl, fans of matching monogrammed Ralph Lauren polos, and suckers for anything with an equestrian flair (ok, this last trait might just be me), that we would also likely fall into the category of "Preppy," in all its boat shoe wearing, headband worshipping glory. So when I discovered the blog The College Prepster, featuring the tales of preppy Carly and her pampered pooch Teddy, I was obviously hooked. 

Imagine my delight when I discovered that Carly would be hosting an event with Teddy at the Henri Bendel flagship to show off the store's latest and greatest in pooch products. Holly and I donned our matching cable knit sweaters, grabbed our fellow blogging buddies Mariel and Michelle, and headed to 57th and 5th for an evening of "sips and shopping" with the dynamic duo.

When we walked to the back of the store we were greeted by a display of "Canine Chic" products. Henri Bendel has expanded on last year's offerings significantly, adding a cute pack-able rain coat, a drool-worthy dog bed, and an adorable two compartment bowl reading "Bone Appetit" to their line of collars, leashes, bowls, treats, and travel bags. Carly was chatting with other attendees but Teddy immediately came to greet Holly with all the vigor of a truly enthusiastic host...the two were so smitten Holly might just graduate from "world's biggest Chihuahua" to "world's smallest Cougar" (Teddy is half her age!)!

We were given vouchers for 20% off and decided to take our lemonade and Bendel's branded water and shop around the store a bit. I haven't been back since they closed the accessories floor in favor of stocking the whole store with Henri Bendel exclusive products. I'll be honest--as a frequent shopper of the accessories floor (particularly the headband department), I was skeptical that Bendel's would be able to pull off the transition, but I was pleasantly surprised by the expanded collection of handbags, travel items, and cozy cold-weather accessories. And, of course, clearing out that space made more room for their pup products, which Holly wholeheartedly endorsed!

We returned to the festivities and had a chance to spend some time with Carly and snap a few pictures of the pups and mamas together. Despite his young age, Teddy's energy started to wan and Holly kept wanting to play (she's really like the energizer bunny!), but we learned that Carly and Teddy live just a few blocks from us, so perhaps they will run into each other on a day when Teddy doesn't have to play host and can really dedicate himself to just...playing!

Thank you so much to Henri Bendel and The College Prepster for a fun, pup friendly event! Holly and I definitely plan on returning to the Bendel's pooch department when it comes time for holiday shopping :)

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Until Next Time, Darlings!