“Litol Buddy (@litolbuddy) was a special name to me even before the brand existed,” says Nicole Uy, founder and Mr. Baldowee, CEO “It’s what I call one of my dearest friends from college. We’ve been calling each other ‘Litol Buddy’ for years — ‘Litol’ because we’re both short haha, and ‘Buddy’ because we’re buddies for life.”

Nicole goes to tell about the time when she started thinking of a brand name, it popped into my mind and I realized how fitting it was — our pets are our little buddies for life. I loved that the name carried a personal story about friendship while also capturing the special bond we have with our pets.

Enter Mr. Baldowee

Mr. Baldowee was her very first dog.

“I got him in 2020, at the start of the pandemic, and I wanted to dress him up but couldn’t find pet clothing that fit him well and was made with good-quality materials,” she shares. “He’s also prone to allergies, and one of his allergens is polyester, so I became very conscious about the fabrics he wore. That’s when the idea of creating my own pet apparel came to me. I wanted to create pieces that were thoughtfully designed, cute, comfortable, and made with premium cotton-rich fabrics.”

What started as making clothes for Baldowee eventually became Litol Buddy–a brand built around the belief that pets are family and they deserve the best.

As a new designer for per clothes, how does she design the attire?

Wee, cuteness for starts. And then she goes into her pets and tries “personally find cute” and what she thinks Mr. Baldowee would be comfortable wearing.

“I like playing around with different ideas and creating pieces that feel fresh and a little different,” she add. “I also get inspiration from fashion and trends, but I don’t necessarily follow them closely.”

But, at the end of the day, she goes back to what she feels Mr. Baldowee would want to wear. And, when she tries it on, if she loves it on him, then she knows she has something.

Pawfect fit

“We actually did once in 2021. We released matching pet-and-human bandanas,” Uy says with much enthusiasm. “We might do another matching collection again in the future.”

Dressing a pet is no easy task says Uy. Thus, Litol Buddy clothing is designed for all pets. Uy is always making sure that he pieces could fit different kinds of pets, regardless of their breed or body type.

In a flash I think to my own personal shopping and in a glace I know what will an will not look good on me—till someone points out otherwise.

For Uy it took a lot of trial and error to get the sizing just right, but that’s something she prioritizes when developing the pieces. She wanted to create a fit that works for as many breeds as possible — basically, the pawfect fit.

The design part isn’t really the difficult part for her. And, she says that the trickiest part is sizing because every pet is unique, even within the same breed.

Cats, too

All Litol Buddy clothing is designed to fit both dogs and cats. For our bandanas, she always makes sure we also have smaller sizes that are suitable for cats.

And, yes, cats are more difficult to dress. As an aside, cats look great in cute bandanas.

“⁠Is there a design that pops in your head while you are driving, eating or doing something that you have to stop immediately and draw the design so you won’t forget it,” I ask.

“Definitely, and usually in the shower,” she laughs. “The Litol Polo, our very first clothing collection, actually started as a shower thought. We were only making bandanas at the time, and I wanted to create something pets could wear every day. The idea just popped into my head, and it’s still one of our most well-loved pieces today.

Picky dressers?

She disagrees.

“I wouldn’t say picky, but pet parents definitely care about what they put on their pets,” Uy quips. “They want something cute, comfortable, practical, and good quality — which is exactly why Litol Buddy exists. I’m a pet parent myself, so I understand that need and want to provide pieces that I’d also be happy to put on my own dog.”