Proving that style and elegance pay greater dividends than trying to stay ahead of the trends, Gwyneth Paltrow has been named the World’s Best Dressed Woman of 2012, by People magazine. Her simple, elegant choice of dress is always a head-turner, whether she’s gracing a red carpet premiere or accompanying husband Chris Martin out on a date. The 39 year-old actress triumphed in the magazine’s style list, which also included Rihanna, Kate Middleton and the entire Kardashian clan. Paltrow’s stylist, Elizabeth Saltzman said that her success was due to not following fashion fads too closely: “She doesn't do fringe. She has a uniform. It's simple, not overdone.”

Kate Middleton managed to pick up another accolade, though. Whilst Gwyneth was deemed to be ‘best dressed,’ Kate was named the woman with the “best classic style” and Emma Stone was crowned the queen of the catwalk, for her stunning red carpet gowns. Reese Witherspoon gets a mention, too, for being the “hot mama” of the bunch and is pictured looking stylish with her baby bump; she’s credited with having “redefined what maternity style can be.”

As for the men, Andrew Garfield, Brad Pitt, Colin Firth, Robert Pattinson, CHRIS HEMSOWRTH, Liam Hemsworth and Jay Z all get nods for their own trend-setting ways. It’s not all good news for the glitterati, though; they have a ‘worst-dressed- section too: Sarah Jessica Parker and Fergie do not get off lightly for their fashion faux pas.