The Most Stylish Woman of 2010...

Victoria Beckham deservedly tops my chart as the most stylish woman of 2010. I mean when have you seen the Spice Girl turned fashion designer look anything other than immaculate? She even manages to look fantastic when she's been papped after an 11 hour flight from London to Los Angeles!

Victoria has long had a love of fashion, but this year she has achieved the seemingly impossible transition from pop star/WAG to fully fledged fashion designer, as the fashion world has truly embraced her as one of their own.

Plenty of celebrities foray into fashion (too many in my opinion), some achieving success to a greater of lesser degree, others not - anyone who saw Lindsay Lohan's frocky horror show for Ungaro has tried to block it from their mind! Very few have gained the critical acclaim which Victoria has been enjoying. She received the ultimate compliment by being nominated for designer brand of the year alongside giants Burberry, Mulberry and Pringle at the British Fashion Awards - an honour she openly admitted to thinking was a joke when she first heard.

Then there is the fact that any celebrity worth their salt has been queueing up to be seen in a VB original. Eva Longoria, Elle MacPherson, Blake Lively, Leighton Meester and Dannii Minogue (indeed, the larger part of my best dressed list) are all fans - and it's not hard to see why. The dresses Victoria designs are not only elegant, but are exceptionally flattering. I stress Victoria's designs because where skepticism surrounds other celebrities who merely put their name to a label, Victoria seems utterly consumed by the venture. An interview with Grazia in the time leading up to New York Fashion Week proved just how involved in the processes she actually is and the technical knowledge she has gained - speaking about how they: 'achieved the shape through cutting panels on the bias and putting exactly the right curved seam in place.'

If I had one criticism it would be that I would like to see her style more relaxed from time to time. I really don't know how she runs after three boys in skyscaper heels! But there's no denying she is fabulous.

The Shopaholic Style Awards 2010

The most stylish women of 2010...





















2. Alexa Chung

The winner of the most stylish Brit at the British Fashion Awards only narrowly misses out on the top spot this year. Her not too perfect look is, well, perfection.



















3. Daisy Lowe

The British model is hot property at the moment, and it's not hard to see why. She's beautiful, stylish and not a super skinny size zero. Plus she's bagged herself Doctor Who star Matt Smith. If I sound jealous, that's 'cos I am.

4. Carey Mulligan

2010 has definitely been Carey Mulligan's year, as the Brit actress has taken both Hollywood and the fashion world by storm. We have seen a parade of Prada and Mui Mui dresses on the red carpet which have perfectly defined her quirky sense of style. Who doesn't love a dress with pockets?!

5. Dannii Minogue

Dannii won the X-Factor fashion face-off hands down - a number of the stunning dresses showcased even came from her own fashion line, Project D, which was launched earlier this year in collaboration with her friend Tabitha.

6. Emma Watson

2010 has been a momentous year for Emma Watson. She has finished filming the Harry Potter series of films which have made her a star, then went for a drastic image change by going for a cropped hair do. She has been gaining fashion plaudits for a while, but this year Emma really came into her own and has topped a number of style charts - and proved why at the penultimate Harry Potter premiere.





















7. Blake Lively

The very leggy Blake Lively just pips her Gossip Girl co-star Leighton Meester to 7th place. She certainly knows how to make an impact on the red carpet and looks fab in this VB number.




















8. Leighton Meester

My favourite gossip girl is actually a lot more daring in her real life fashion choices than as preppy Blair in the hit show - which means that hits as well as some misses are inevitable. One thing is for sure, this Elie Saab dress is beautiful, and I'm sure Miss Waldorf would heartily agree.





















9. Kelly Osbourne

Kelly Osbourne is hardly recognisable as the hell raising teen who hit our screens on her family's MTV reality show. A stint on Dancing with the Stars has left Kelly with a toned figure, combined with a new ladylike image she looks every inch the sophisticated starlet.





















10. Samantha Cameron

Not since the days of Jackie O have we been so engrossed by the attire of our leaders' wives. Now Samantha Cameron joins the ever increasing ranks of stylish first ladies, including Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni. Whether wearing M&S or Paul Smith, the former creative director of Smythson always looks the picture of dignified elegance - yet with a fashion forward twist.

Top Picks From the Next Sale!

If you were amongst the crowds of 'brave' individuals queuing outside Next in eager anticipation of the Boxing Day sale at an hour too early for me to even contemplate, I hope your determination was at least rewarded with some great bargains. If, on the other hand, you couldn't resist a lie in here's what to look out for - that's if the early risers have left us anything on the rails of course! These items not only have huge reductions, but are sure to see you through spring/summer... www.next.co.uk

Maxi dress, was £65 now £25

Tribal print dress, was £50 now £25

Leather shorts, was £65 now £30

Leopard print dress, was £45 now £20

Sheer midi skirt, was £28 now £12

Lace top, was £50 now £20

Christmas Party Time

The festive season is upon us at last! A time to eat, drink and be merry. Not wanting to break from tradition, me and the girls treated ourselves to a meal at a posh country house hotel - which we were happily still able to reach in spite of the mounds of snow around at the moment.

After weeks of looking at Christmas party dresses I actually opted to wear a metallic Henry Holland knotted top with a black skirt. The ice around is so treacherous that I even ditched the heels in favour of ballet pumps - well, it's a look good enough for Alexa Chung...

A good night was had by all, topped off with a nice glass of bubbly - so that's the eating, drinking and merriness pretty much covered. Happy Christmas!

xxx

Yes, Another Handbag

A while back I posted about receiving a 10% discount voucher for Urban Outfitters - well I couldn't possibly let that go to waste! It gave me the perfect excuse to add to my already sizable (to put it mildly) handbag collection. I can hear my Nan now; 'not another handbag!'

I chose this classic black bucket bag as an early christmas present to myself - if you can't treat yourself at christmas when can you, ay?

Cheryl v Dannii: The Final Showdown

So this is it - after thousands upon thousands of auditions, 12 finalists (not forgetting four wildcards) and a whole lot of pretty dresses, the X-Factor 2010 has come to an end. Our weekends just won't be the same without a Cheryl v Dannii fashion face-off.

This week one had to wonder whether it was handbags at dawn as to who got to wear their scarlet stunner for the grand finale. A bit of wardrobe co-ordination later and Dannii was the first to step out in a beautiful red tiered gown by J'Aton Couture, whilst Cheryl wore a crystal encrusted Roberto Cavalli dress. However, the over-sized sleeve overpowered her small frame in my opinion, and don't get me started on the slick-backed hair do - not a good look.















But what a difference a day makes. On Sunday night Cheryl emerged in what has to be my favourite look of hers we have seen all season. I absolutely loved her red fish-tailed gown by J.Mendel. Yet we can never underestimate Ms Minogue, and Dannii had one final sparkler up her sleeve. She exuded old Hollywood glamour in a heavily beaded Jenny Packham gown.















Not only was Dannii crowned the winning judge when Matt was voted the winner (my favourite to win I might add), but she runs away with my style award.

Despite the beautiful dresses on show, it was a scantily clad Rihanna who captured the column inches when she sang What's My Name in a tribal print bikini - a performance which was deemed too suggestive for young viewers. Well we had to have one last morsel of controversy after the the series of scandals and spats which have dogged the show this time around.

The British Fashion Awards

Last night the big hitters of the fashion industry were out in force as the newly refurbished Savoy hotel played host to the British Fashion Awards. There was stiff competition for the coveted awards, not to mention competitive dressing on what turned out to be one of the most stylish occasions this year! Here's your guide to who won (and wore) what...

Designer of the year: Phoebe Philo

Outstanding achievement in fashion design: Lee McQueen

Emerging designer of the year: Meadham Kirchhoff

Designer brand of the year: Mulberry

Award for digital innovation: Burberry

Model of the year: Lara Stone

Special recognition award: Naomi Campbell

British style award: Alexa Chung



















Alexa Chung in Chanel.



















Lara Stone in Calvin Klein.



















Naomi Campbell in McQueen.



















Phoebe Philo fought off stiff competition from Christopher Kane and Erdem to be named designer of the year.



















Victoria Beckham was nominated for designer brand of the year. She told Elle: 'I thought it was a joke at first because I've only been creating for five seasons now, so being up against a brand like Burberry that's been around for so many years was such a big deal.'