I made a brilliant coat for my lurcher Alfie from some neon pink fleece from the The Fabric Warehouse. As it doesn't fray all you have to do is cut out the shape. I made a template with newspaper of a coat shape and laid it over the dog, then marked where I would have to cut longer bits to tie round his chest infront of his legs and again under his chest behind his front legs and I just tied it in a bow everytime we went out. It looked fabulous and was as soft as anything and really comfy and didn't look at all gay! You're only down the road so I could give you a demo if you like.
I just bought my mums whippet (who my OH and I look after when parents are away) the most gorgeous baby pink fleece!!! She is satying with us at the minute, OH who is terrilbly macho refuses to let her wear it out with us, but I think she looks fab, and she seems to like it too!! Sadly got it in LA so that doesnt really help you out, but there are tonnes on the internet if you google things like, fleece dog jackets, dog clothes. dog boutiques etc, youll be amazed what you find!!
YAY! Do let me know what it's like. Will hopefully be getting for Tarka. Will be interested to see how it fits, hopefully shouldn't be too wide/deep xx