Does my dog look good in this – or just barking?

I look down at my Yorkshire terrier. He looks up at me, showing the whites of his eyes and pleading: "No, don't make me." He doesn't want to go out wearing the quilted pink rain boots I bought him in LA, and, to be fair, he has a point.

Never mind the fact that they impede his locomotion ever so slightly — they are also totally passé. Dogwear has grown up; it has become refined. Pet fashion has expanded by 30 per cent over the past decade — meaning that it is now possible to buy discerningly for your dog. Goodbye, novelty pink plastic bootees; hello, cable-knit cashmere sweater.

Classic Seventies tailoring in shades of taupe and caramel, cut from opulent fabrics — as seen at Chloe AW 2010 — are what I want to be wearing this autumn, and there is now no reason why my Yorkie shouldn't, too. He may have to forgo the new wide-leg trouser, but being born with a silky, honey-coloured coat means he already has a head start on neutral colouring.

He will romp into September in a chocolate, stone or oatmeal cable-knit pullover from Maud & Mungo in 100 per cent cashmere (prices vary between £105 and £110, depending on the size of your breed). Mungo & Maud, the stylish London pet outfitters based in Elizabeth Street, Victoria, describe their designs as having a "considered, timeless quality", and indeed their stripy canvas Milan leads (from £82) are as preppy and distinctive as an old school tie.

Using strong, refined colours, from cobalt blue to malachite, and natural fibres all the way, the range impressed Manhattan fashion temple Bergdorf Goodman so much that it set up, for the first time in the store's history, a pets' shopping corner. From this autumn, Mungo & Maud will also be stocked in Neiman Marcus, New York and Le Bon Marché, Paris.

Four-legged fashion is, contrary to all logic, proving to be recession-proof. The latest Minitel consumer report, released last week, revealed that the market for "little luxuries" such as a dog's evening dress (tails, bow-tie, buttonhole and top hat, £28 from maxandmargot.co.uk) continued to expand this year, with pet-maintenance spending reaching an unprecedented £2.4 billion.

Embarrassingly, my own Yorkie has not had a black-tie invitation yet, but sales figures for Max and Margot indicate that almost 2,000 other dogs own their own tuxedos. Never has man's best friend looked so debonair.

Daywear and street casual outfits are also booming, with the fashion trend towards vintage clothing represented in the canine world by Bentley B, which makes dogs' T-shirts, each unique, from second-hand T-shirts (Bentley B, an American company, is stocked exclusively in the UK by Pride and Joy dog couture, prideandjoydogcouture.co.uk). Slogans on dogs' clothing have also evolved from the obvious — "Hot Dog" etc — to more sophisticated catchphrases, such as "Security" (available in ironically small sizes) and "Friend of Dorothy" (Mungo & Maud).

But you know the ground has really shifted when designers Roberto Cavalli and Mulberry start sending pugs down the catwalk/dogwalk. Since 2009, both fashion houses have produced seasonal animals' outfits that complement the brand's identity, Mulberry offering classic, wholesome Fair Isle knitted dog jumpers (A/W 2010), while Cavalli creates racy jaguar-print pet jackets and satin-trimmed bathrobes.

The Mulberry catwalk model, a French bulldog called Hogey, is from Battersea Dogs' and Cats' Home, while Eva Cavalli, Roberto's wife, is a keen animal lover with a Great Dane and two Bichon Frisés at home. Between them, these fashion houses have both ends of the canine market covered.