2011's most stylish Brit Awards nominees

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10 April 2012
The Weekender

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They sing like sirens and they look divine: next week's Brit Awards see female artists take centre stage like never before. Even the trophy has had a redesign, courtesy of Vivienne Westwood. While we love (most of) the girls' music, we also love their style: the risks they take, the eras they favour and the funny pants. Here's a round-up of the female nominees and their fabulous fashions.

Florence Welch
Nominated for Best British Single for You've Got the Love (I'm sniffy because it's a cover but my younger colleague claims it doesn't matter, as "this isn't the Mercury awards"), Florence's style goes from strength to strength and hasn't become any less bonkers just because she's a mega-selling artist. Although she is occasionally wardrobed by Topshop, you sense her heart is still in the 5p basket of her local Sue Ryder store, where she always manages to pull out just the right sort of insouciant dress to accompany her winsome image. We love her pale white twig legs in their ankle socks and the shapes she throws in her long, diaphanous stage outfits. Florence is a true original and embodies everything that is great about British style.

Laura Marling
As befits someone with such an effortlessly lovely voice, 22-year-old Marling doesn't have a professional persona but hops onstage as though she just got off the 88 bus. We love this approach: it makes her stand out even more when you consider how "fashion" her female contemporaries seem to be. Besides, she has a guitar: what other accessory do you need? Heels? Her comfy T-shirts, plaid shirts and easy jeans imply that she has stayed true to her folk roots and that she doesn't need her clothes to speak for her. We urge her to handle with caution the inevitable freebies that will come her way: we'd hate to see her in a pair of PWAs (Pants With Attitude).

Ellie Goulding
With her combed-over hair (could there be a more extreme side parting in London?) and her nicely put-together outfits, 24-year-old Goulding, who is up for two awards, subscribes to the Fearne Cotton school of dressing, what some magazines would describe as "bang on trend" but without being too edgy. If mustard is in, she'll wear a mustard blouse; if military is in, she'll have the jacket. A sometime wearer of PWAs (though not with as much A as Jesse J), Goulding's onstage look can range dramatically from rock chic (leather trousers, black bra, see-through vest) to indie kid (coloured tights, silk blouse, denim shorts). I suspect she relies heavily on a stylist, but, then, doesn't everyone these days?

Jessie J
Such is the hunger for new meat in the ever-hungry world of style commentary that Jessie J has already gathered as many column inches for her fashion sense as for her music. Part of a new breed who subscribe to the PWA school of dressing, 23-year-old Jessie's trademark stage look features large granny pants teamed with faux suspender tights by Henry Holland, for example, or a sheer pair of tights emblazoned with black stars. She also likes a lace bodystocking or three. With her severe black bob and penchant for a strong lip (purple, black) she reminds me of a young Siobhan Fahey, only with even better pipes. Her off-duty look is only slightly toned down, encouraging the idea that she is in control of her image, as opposed to being under the auspices of a stylist.

Cheryl Cole
When we heard Chezza had been nominated for two - count 'em - two Brit awards this year (Female Artist and Best Single), we laughed so hard we split our trousers. Clearly, so did she. To be fair, it must be hard to sing well when you're worried if your backing dancer is going to drop you, so we must forgive Cheryl the odd miming episode. We can't, however, forgive the split trousers, or the Janet Jackson tribute act look with which she launched her solo career back in the mists of 2009. Cheryl's stage look has definitely improved, but then again, it couldn't have got much worse.

Paloma Faith
Another Best Female Artist nominee, 25-year-old Faith has real fun with her stage costumes: nothing is ever too outré, too uncomfortable or too yellow. Like a Forties siren on acid, Faith's favoured look is curled hair, red lips, big heels and a curvy silhouette, with leopard print, rhinestones and brightly coloured satin all playing their part. Inspired by Marilyn Monroe ("she taught me to accentuate my curves"), Faith does sexy on her own terms. Apart from conceding to a slightly lower heel, she has no off-duty look, so far as we can see: she is always "on".

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