Every once in a while, someone in the public eye changes their image by entirely changing their fashion. After her boyfriend of four years headed to prison, Anne Hathaway emerged looking…fantastic, actually. Her sweet, girlish look was replaced by blunt bangs, sleek, sexy clothes and a grittier than usual role in Rachel Getting Married which could very well lead to an Oscar nod. Anne gets our Surviving in Style award.

Next is our pick for Fashion Chameleon. At Fashion Rocks, she was dressed perfectly for a concert in black leather leggings and a silver Rag and Bone blazer. At something more formal you’d find her in a John Galliano design. Charlize Theron’s fashion strength lies in her ability to always wear the right outfit for the occasion and make everything around her look glamorous, too.

Then there are the girls that seem to have made the red carpet their specialty. Our reigning Red Carpet Queen of 2008 is Penélope Cruz. At the Oscars, she wore black Chanel couture. For the Vicky Cristina Barcelona premiere it was a midnight-blue, curve-hugging, floor-length Hervé L. Leroux in LA and a strapless Marchesa in New York. Penélope mixed it up but never made a mistake.

Our Trendsetter award goes to our favorite fashion rebel, Rihanna. Instead of sticking to safe bets, Rihanna experimented this year. And no matter how out-there her choices may have seemed at first glance, once Rihanna wore something (leggings, booties, knee-high gladiator sandals) everyone else wanted to wear it, too.

And finally, our fifth and final best-dressed woman of the year earns our Newcomer award—Julianne Hough. When she wasn’t dancing with the stars she stole the limelight from seasoned veterans at the American Music Awards in a Rami Kashou ‘Heidi’ dress. We’re going to be watching her closely in 2009.

Do you agree with our picks? Tell us what you think by posting a comment below or sending an email to sar_bernard@yahoo.com. By the way, in this episode I’m wearing a day-to-night dress in black and ivory by Shoshanna.

Popularity: unranked [?]