Three are supermodels, two are married to world leaders, and one is a singer whose outfits defy description.

The most stylish women of the year were announced today by Vogue.com, with TV presenter Alexa Chung coming out on top.

Quirky: Alexa Chung was voted most stylish woman in the world

The 26-year-old was named most stylish for her “Brit-girl-abroad quirky sense of style”. She has pioneered a demure “old lady” look, accessorised with mannish shoes and endless legs.

So last season: Kate Moss just made it into the Top 10

Second place went to Amélie star Audrey Tautou, 31, who has just played the most important woman in fashion history, Coco Chanel in the film Coco Before Chanel.

Leading ladies: Coco star Audrey Tatau and Michelle Obama are hailed as icons

There are a smattering of relatively older women on the list. Sarah Jessica Parker, 44, whose outfits drew huge crowds in New York during the filming of the Sex And The City sequel, takes third place.

Michelle Obama, 45, whose fashion choices got almost as much coverage as her husband during the American presidential election, is 14th. A spokeswoman for American Vogue, which compiled the list, said: “Her trademark bare arms and belted tunics — and flair for mixing pieces from J.Crew and Gap with Basso & Brooke and Narciso Rodriguez — have earned her comparisons with that other most fashionable first lady, Jackie O.”

Another first lady, Dior fan Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, 41, took 19th place.

For their services to Saturday night television, Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue were placed fourth and fifth respectively. Cole's choice of edgy designers like Marios Schwab and David Koma beat Minogue's bobbed hairstyle and show-stopping outfits by J'Aton Couture and Donna Karan.

Harry Potter star Emma Watson, 19, who was this year made the face of Burberry, came sixth. While several other names on the list were only to be expected — Sienna Miller (7th), Angelina Jolie (15th) and Kate Moss (10th).

Vogue's top 20 most stylish
1. Alexa Chung, TV presenter
2. Audrey Tautou, actress
3. Sarah Jessica Parker, actress
4. Cheryl Cole, singer/judge on The X Factor
5. Dannii Minogue, singer/judge on The X Factor
6. Emma Watson, actress
7. Sienna Miller, actress
8. Diane Kruger, actress
9. Freida Pinto, actress
10. Kate Moss, model
11. Lady GaGa, singer
12. Lily Donaldson, model
13. Leighton Meester, actress
14. Michelle Obama, US First Lady
15. Angelina Jolie, actress
16. Georgia May Jagger, model
17. Anna Friel, actress
18. Olivia Palermo, US reality TV star (The City)
19. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, French First Lady
20. Beth Ditto, singer

Evening Standard Fashion Editor Laura Craik on Vogue's verdict
It is not just a case of “move over, Kate Moss”, but “move down” — or should that be “plummet”.

The model formerly known as Britain's best-dressed has careered down Vogue's list to number 10, one place above Lady GaGa, a woman who wears pyrotechnic bras and rubber knickers.

While nobody would argue with Alexa Chung taking the number one spot, or Audrey Tautou bagging number two, I would dispute Cheryl Cole being the fourth most stylish woman of the year. Unlike Chung, whose style is sufficiently eclectic to suggest it is her own, Cole seems heavily influenced by a stylist. Her hair extensions alone should preclude her from being in the top five.

One glaring omission from the list is Victoria Beckham, who must surely be weeping into her skinny latte that all her efforts have been in vain. To be pipped by Cole must hurt, particularly as Beckham ditched her hair extensions long ago in the pursuit of chic. At least she can be consoled that Agyness Deyn didn't make the list, either.