Anyone ever seen a cool set of mud guards? other than crud catchers, I know cool and mud guard don't really go together but I'm building a bike for my dad and I have to put some on.
The old French brand LeFol used to make beautiful hammered aluminum mudguards with names like "Le Martelé" and "Le Paon" ("the peacock"). With the revival of interest in older French bikes, a few companies are making copies. Have a look for "Vélo Orange" and Honjo.
You can also get fairly inexpensive stainless steel mudguards from the likes or Berthoud in France. They're not as pretty as the aluminium models, but tougher.
For a low-fi approach, you could try home-made "coroplast fenders", as popularized by randonneur extraordinaire Kent Peterson: