Six signs pets are the economy's new big spenders

Some 82.5 million American households, or 68 percent, include domestic animals. Americans spent an all-time-high $55.7 billion on their pets last year, and spending will inch close to $60 billion this year. Here are six things driving the pet spending boom.

4. Pet fashion

Eric Thayer/Reuters/File
A woman holds a dog during the 2014 New York Pet Fashion Show February 7, 2014.

It's easier than ever for the rich to make sure their pets are dressed to kill. Most articles of pet clothing are no more than miniaturized fleece pieces or tiny ironic Christmas sweaters, but more and more haute couture fashion houses are dipping their paws into canine and feline apparel.

Designers ranging from Gucci to Vivienne Westwood are making fur coats and diamond armor pieces that are easily more expensive than an average person's entire outfit. New York, fittingly, has become a mecca for pet fashion. The New York Pet Fashion Show just celebrated its tenth anniversary just last February.

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