Cheryl Cole voted most popular style icon for girls in their 20s

The average 20-something female dresses like Cheryl Cole, while women twice her age favour the Jennifer Aniston look, research revealed today.

Experts who studied the biggest fashion icons for women in Britain today found former X-Factor judge Cheryl still blazes the trail for the younger generation.

Kate Middleton emerged as the most copied figure for women in their 30s, while former Friends actress Aniston topped the list for the 40-somethings.

Daybreak host Lorraine Kelly came top of the pile for women in their 50s while Helen Mirren was the style icon for women in their 60s.

But Breakfast at Tiffany’s star Audrey Hepburn was hailed as the overall style icons by women of all ages, followed by Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly.

Yesterday a spokeswoman for high-end clothing brand CC which commissioned the report, said: “It’s only natural that different age groups favour and emulate different celebrities.

“But the research does throw up some interesting points – it seems being more style focused becomes more important with age.

“Women such as Lulu, Twiggy and Jane Seymour have retained they style icon status throughout the decades and become even more stylish as they get older.

“Stylish women in their 50’s seem to opt for a more demure style as sported by the likes of Lorraine Kelly or Nigella Lawson in contrast to someone like Madonna who has always pushed boundaries in terms of her image and styling.”

The study, which involved women aged between 20 and 69, found younger girls also look up to Harry Potter star Emma Watson and Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis.

Singer Pixie Lott also made the list as did Saturday’s star Frankie Sandford.

In the 30-somethings category, Kate Middleton was slightly ahead of This Morning presenter and Celebrity Juice panellist Holly Willoughby.

Model Kelly Brook was third while Victoria Beckham was fourth.

Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh also made the top ten along with Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton.

In the 40s category Davina McCall was hailed as the second most popular fashion icon followed by author JK Rowling and Kylie Minogue in equal third.

Supermodel Elle Macpherson also made the top ten as did Patsy Kensit.

Britain’s over 50s apparently aspire to dress like Lorraine Kelly, Nigella Lawson and Carol Vorderman, while the 60-somethings prefer to dress like Dame Mirren, another Dame, Judi Dench and Joanna Lumley.

A spokeswoman for CC added: “Whether you are in your twenties, thirties or forties there are some women in this poll who have undisputed style.

“The Duchess of Cambridge for example has an elegant style that women both young and old can appreciate.

“It’s encouraging to younger women that you don’t necessarily have to bare all to look appealing.”

The study found that 15 per cent of the women studied said they often dressed like their favourite celebrity and more than a quarter have tried to find out where a piece of clothing was from after they had spotted a celeb wearing it.

Three quarters trawl the internet to find out where celebs clothes are from but one in twenty have even rang the TV show the star has appeared on in a bid to track down the item.

STYLE ICONS FOR WOMEN IN THEIR 20’s

1.      Cheryl Cole
2.      Emma Watson
3.      Jessica Ennis
4.      Mollie King
5.      Pixie Lott
6.      Frankie Sandford
7.      Coleen Rooney
8.      Lily Cooper Nee Allen
9.      Amy Childs
10.     Jesy Nelson

STYLE ICONS FOR WOMEN IN THEIR 30’s

1.      Duchess of Cambridge
2.      Holly Willoughby
3.      Kelly Brook
4.      Victoria Beckham
5.      Kimberly Walsh
6.      Ashley Roberts
7.      Victoria Pendleton
8.      Katie Price
9.      Kim Kardashian
10.     Christine Bleakley

STYLE ICONS FOR WOMEN IN THEIR 40’s

1.      Jennifer Aniston
2.      Davina McCall
3.      Kylie Minogue
4.      J K Rowling
5.      Elle MacPherson
6.      Demi Moore
7.      Patsy Kensit
8.      Sarah Jessica Parker
9.      Zoe Ball
10.     Dame Kelly Holmes

STYLE ICONS  FOR WOMEN IN THEIR 50’s

1.      Lorraine Kelly
2.      Nigella Lawson
3.      Carol Vorderman
4.      Annie Lennox
5.      Fern Britton
6.      Liz Hurley
7.      Jennifer Saunders
8.      Dawn French
9.      Jerry Hall
10.     Madonna

STYLE ICONS  FOR WOMEN IN THEIR 60’s

1.      Dame Helen Mirren
2.      Dame Judi Dench
3.      Joanna Lumley
4.      Meryl Streep
5.      Lulu
6.      Twiggy
7.      Jane Seymour
8.      Camilla – Duchess of Cornwall
9.      Sharon Osbourne
10.     Sigourney Weaver