Saturday nights are over for the rest of the year. Two weekends ago Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue, Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell started the first round of live X Factor shows, judging a slew of wannabe stars.
The fiercest battle on X-Factor is hotting up with a vengeance.
No, not which contestant dazzles Simon Cowell - it's Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue fighting it out to be crowned most stylish. And the glamorous judges certainly pulled out all the stops for the first live show of the season last weekend.
Super slim Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole, 25, looked stunning in a Versace Atelier gold silk mini cage dress, with a full structured skirt and long flowing hair extensions , while Dannii was all grace and elegance in an elegant purple maxi dress and chic upstyle.
But it wasn’t just the girls who had upped the ante for this season's show...
Perma tanned Simon Cowell ditched his usual white t shirt for a smart black suit, which he teamed with a white shirt and skinny black tie. And even Louis Walsh showed off a youthful new look after having surgery on the bags under his eyes.
The music mogul was looking younger than his 57 years after going under the knife in August to have them removed in time for the first X Factor live show. He also had his teeth whitened and he’s been seen wearing stylish fitted shirts and dark shades – all part of his sharp new look.
Last Sunday night’s X Factor pulled in an astonishing 13 million viewers, making it one of the most popular TV shows of all time in the UK. The show has certainly given 35 year old Dannii Minogue’s flagging career a new lease of life and it has turned Cheryl Cole into a style icon.
Over the past 12 months Cheryl has become leader of the fashion pack thanks to a seriously clever makeover. Much of her amazing new style is down to her personal stylist, Victoria Adcock. If it wasn't for Adcock — who has also worked with Victoria Beckham and Christina Aguilera — Cheryl might still be looking a little more WAG than wonderful.
Remember those awful matching white outfits herself and the hubby wore to publicise the UK's National Lottery? Or when she teamed cowboy hats with white denim hot pants? Shudder!
Adcock has made her ditch the loud patterns, asymmetric hemlines and Timberland boots in favour of funky labels including Preen, Luella and Alexander McQueen. Victoria says: "She does the ladylike look well. But then she can switch to jeans, heels and a leather jacket."
Even Vogue magazine — for whom Kate Moss is their most often used cover star — wanted Cheryl, 25, for the front of the mag in February. And in August she also landed a deal to appear as a spokesmodel for beauty brand L’Oreal Paris.
Cheryl may be Tatler's Best Dressed person of the year but Dannii Minogue has come back with a great new image. She has changed her look with a flattering new hairstyle, a face-flattering, glossy, and grown up, chin-length bob that she has played around with (quiff, side parting, wavy, poker-straight and hair-band). The new cut flatters Dannii's doll-like features and makes her look much younger than her 37 years.
And she's ditched the Botox that rendered her features robotic last time around. "I'm done with Botox," she told Grazia. She even poked fun at herself, adding, "For The X Factor, it is actually quite useful to be able to have facial expressions." The pout has been replaced by a warm, relaxed smile.
Dannii is totally rocking the 80s trend in one-shoulder dresses, sheer blouses, black cigarette pants, high waisted shorts and jersey dresses. She dresses her proportions well and is never swamped by her clothes. As for accessories, she generally keeps it to one piece of dramatic statement jewellery. Dannii is not a girly girl, but she doesn't try to be; she's not 21 any more but she's comfortable with that.
During last year's show it was rumoured the female judges didn't get along too well and that Dannii, was jealous of 26-year-old Cheryl's youth and popularity with the public as well as show producers. Dannii loves fashion and knows what suits her - but she hotly denies any ‘style war’ between her and Cheryl.
"I don't wake up in the morning and think: "What's Kylie doing? What am I doing? Who's better? Who's doing more?" If this supposed fashion war between Cheryl and me is the worst part of my life, then everything's OK. A friend of mine has just finished a course of chemotherapy - that's important, not what I wear to auditions."
Asked how she chooses her dresses, she says: "Sometimes I use stylists, sometimes I work with designers. If you liked what I wore, it was all me – if you didn’t like it, it wasn’t my idea. I’m not a shopper. My boyfriend loves shopping, so I have to go with him to get brownie points, but I sit in the store drumming my fingers."
Whether you are a fan of Cheryl’s girlie style or Danni’s sophisticated look, one thing for sure - there’ll be plenty of fabulous fashion to keep us glued to our sets over the coming weeks. Let the battle commence!
