Is this Edinburgh's most stylish resident? Meet Samantha, the Afghan Hound taking the fashion world by storm

It is 10am on a Tuesday morning and Samantha the Afghan Hound is lounging on a green sofa at the five-star Kimpton Hotel on Edinburgh’s Charlotte Square.

Wrapped neatly in a pink tweed coat, her exquisitely angular face framed by a glossy mane of pearl blonde hair, there’s no other guest who looks quite so at home in these luxury surroundings.

Samantha styled in an orange coat and black turtle neck jumper with her hair pinned back with clips | Supplied

The four-year-old hound, who lives in Edinburgh’s New Town with her owner and momager Bethany Plevri, has risen to internet fame under the Instagram handle Afghan Hound in the City.

Every other day, Samantha’s 250k followers are treated to a portrait of the canine adorned in an enviable selection of high-end coats, scarves, sunglasses and accessories, each look given an apt title such as “Wall Street wife” or “Rich Aunt Energy”.

Samantha has sported hundreds of looks, expertly styled by her owner Bethany | Supplied

In real life, Samantha is much like her internet persona: effortlessly elegant, self-possessed, slightly aloof.

According to Bethany, she really is a lady of leisure, much more likely to be found sprawled out in a city centre café, or tucked up in front of the fire at a gastro pub, than frolicking in a park with her fellow four-legged peers.

“She’s always had a funny personality,” said Bethany. “She definitely doesn’t think of herself as a dog. She’ll see dogs playing and just look at them, like, what are you going? She’s more at home lounging in a nice hotel.”

Samantha pictured in the library of the pet-friendly Kimpton Hotel in Charlotte Square | Supplied

Bethany, now a 32-year-old mum of two, started posting pictures of Samantha when she was four months old, mainly to show her friends how adorable she was.

During the Winter months, she would keep Samantha warm in doggy jumpers and coats, and before long she was adding pieces from her own wardrobe.

“Samantha was growing into her personality, and it felt natural for me to wrap her up in something that was mine,” she said. “I’d put one of my scarfs on her, or one of my polo necks.

“And I’d put clips in her hair to keep it off her face.”

Samantha lounging in the Garden Room of the Kimpton Hotel in Edinburgh | Supplied

Around two years ago, when she was still relatively unknown, she was spotted by an agent and cast in an advertising campaign for the luxury fashion house Jimmy Choo.

Then, last year, her career took off. She has since starred in ads for Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger and the Italian luxury perfume brand Acqua Di Parma.

But for Bethany, the most thrilling moment to date happened last Christmas, when she received a message on Instagram from Chloe Malle, the new editor of US Vogue.

“When I saw she’d followed me, I was like, this is insane,” said Bethany. “I thought it must be a joke. She said she wanted to do something cool with us, but she didn’t know what yet.”

Samantha and her owner Bethany in the Garden Room of the Kimpton Hotel | Iconic

She received another message in Spring to ask if she could shoot Samantha for this year’s Dogue - US Vogue’s annual canine edition dedicated to high-fashion dogs and celebrity pet interviews.

Bethany was shipped a wardrobe of designer clothes, from leather Chanel wraps to Celine scarves, plus “dozens of designer sunglasses”, which she estimates must have added up to around £100,000.

Starring in Vogue was a “huge milestone” for Samantha, but Bethany is not short of ideas about where to take Afghan Hound in the City next.

“I’m currently writing a coffee table book with all of Samantha’s looks, and one day I’d love to make a children’s book where you can change her clothes,” she said.

“I’ve always had this story idea of Samantha’s adventures, where she’s this totally out of touch, glamorous dog whose lumbered with a normal family.

“She’s constantly like, oh my god, what are they doing? Where’s the butler?”

“That would be so fun.”