A whole year in red carpet, street style, movie premieres, and film festival looks is hard to sift through. It’s made a little easier when you trawl through everyone else’s best dressed lists and agree or disagree with what they have picked.

Last year I somehow managed to pick my top five best looks rather than my best dressed of the year, so this year it’s been a little more difficult because I still want my favourite looks, those stand out dresses that can never be competed with, but then there are celebrities out there who have just excelled throughout the year it would be difficult to pick just one look.

10. Nina Dobrev

Nina Dobrev topped my Best Dressed of 2011 with her showstopping Donna Karan at the 2011 Emmys. She made my top ten list this year with her electric blue Elie Saab dress she wore in Cannes to the amFar Gala. She’s had a great year, promoting the brilliant movie Perks of Being a Wallflower co-starring Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, and Ezra Miller, with other red carpet hits including a red Reem Acra and a beautiful Monique Lhuillier gown.

Elie Saab // Monique Lhuillier // Reem Acra

9. Ginnifer Goodwin

Ginnifer Goodwin is one of those stars that is always under the radar  but looking back over 2012 she has made plenty of best dressed lists with some crazy beautiful looks and not to mention she has the best pixie cut in the business. Not one to shy in the background my favourite from Ginnifer is a tie between her bright pink Roksanda Illincic dress she wore right at the beginning of the year at the People’s Choice Awards and her Monique Lhuillier gown she wore to the Emmy Awards, her other looks include a stunning feather Gucci dress she wore to the LACMA Art and Film Gala and another orange Monique Lhuillier that she chose for the MET Gala.

Roksanda Illincic // Monique Lhuillier // Gucci

8. Emma Stone

You can’t help but love Emma Stone, she’s funny and pretty and she’s kissed Ryan Gosling, a lot. She had a good run on the press tour for The Amazing Spiderman this summer with my favourite look on the red carpet at the Paris premiere in a stunning Gucci gown, she wowed in Elie Saab at the UK premiere and also wore a Chanel look. She also knows how to do pretty as she wore a candy pink Valentino creation to the Annual ELLE Women in Hollywood event.

Gucci // Elie Saab // Valentino

7. Blake Lively

She’s one of my style crushes and I love Blake, she’s had a fantastic year; marrying the man of my dreams Ryan Reynolds, being named the face of Gucci Premiere, Gossip Girl finally ending (and getting fake married in Georges Chakra Couture) and a great red carpet run for her film Savages which co-stars Taylor Kitsch and Ryan Taylor-Johnson. It was one of the best jaw-dropping moments of 2012 when Blake arrived on the LA red carpet looking all Veronica Lake-esque with tumbling blonde curls in a curve-hugging sexy Zuhair Murad gown, she continued to wow with a Michael Kors red hot suit, a lemon flowing Gucci dress and two beautiful Jenny Packham dresses when appearing on television. I would have included her wedding dress in this list but unfortunately no images have been released of her Marchesa creation just a small subtle hint…

Zuhair Murad // Michael Kors // Gucci

Georges Chakra Couture Gossip Girl wedding // In Marchesa for Martha Stewart Weddings

6. Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic, normally I just judge celebrities by what they wear and if I don’t like it then see ya. But she is genuinely funny, and nice, and just a typical girl who has to be told to watch her language and be careful about what she says because her brain-to-mouth filter doesn’t work. You have to read the excerpt of her interview with Rolling Stone magazine from the April 2012 editoiin because it had me giggling and wishing she would be my friend and the cover is just smoking hot. Her red carpet run for The Hunger Games was a little hit and miss but the gold Prabal Gurung dress had me drooling, it is one of my favourite dresses of the year without a doubt, hence being on my best dressed list… But there was a sexy Tom Ford gown and another gold dress by Ralph Lauren she wore for the UK premiere that made up for the poor latter half of the year where she made Rachel Zoe her stylist who dressed her in that godawful Dior suit.

Prabal Gurung // Ralph Lauren // Tom Ford

5. Gwyneth Paltrow

I’ve struggled with where to place Gwyneth because the white Tom Ford gown she wore to the Oscars was a great moment, and it wouldn’t have been as amazing if she hadn’t worn the cape which put her straight to the top of the best dressed at the awards ceremony.  She wore one of her good friend Stella McCartney’s cutout gowns to the Grammys which were seriously popular this year and even wore another white Tom Ford dress proving a good designer partnership always works well for the red carpet. My other favourite look of Gwynnie’s was the sexy Michael Kors cutout dress she wore to the designers’ Golden Heat Gala and making another of my best dressed lists this time at the MET Gala in a super short Prada creation.

Tom Ford

Prada // Michael Kors // Stella McCartney

4. Kate Hudson

I’ve always liked Kate Hudson, ever since How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and that amazing yellow dress (which just so happens to be in the V&A Hollywood exhibit in London) she knows how to dress for her body. She can look sexy but it’s always so understated and relaxed, her wavy long blonde hair is never over done which goes a long way into making her a goddess on the red carpet. She hasn’t been super busy this year, but the moments Kate has had on the red carpet have been memorable especially the red Prabal Gurung she wore to the amFAR Inspiration Gala in LA in October. The Atelier Versace gown she wore at the Venice Film Festival for her movie The Reluctant Fundamentalist was simply breathtaking, the white Alexander McQueen at the Toronto Film Festival and the purple Jenny Packham gown packed just as much of a punch when she attended The White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April.

Prabal Gurung

Atelier Versace // Alexander McQueen // Jenny Packham

3. Keira Knightley 

She had her work cutout this year on press tours for Anna Karenina, A Dangerous Method and Seeking A Friend for the End of the World. Her crowning moment was in the Elie Saab Couture gown for the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of Anna Karenina, but I equally liked the mint green custom Erdem gown she wore at the LA premiere of AK it was a real change from the princess dresses she had been wearing. Keira also donned a Chanel Couture gown for the UK premiere of AK, Valentino for two premieres and two Burberry Prorsum dresses proving to be the princess of designer couture.

Elie Saab Couture // Erdem

Chanel Couture // Valentino Couture // Burberry Prorsum

2. Elizabeth Banks

Maybe you’re thinking huh? But this actress had the best press tour for a movie this year, The Hunger Games’ actress really channelled her character Effie Trinket and brought a rainbow of colours and accessories to the red carpet. Colour is so powerful, and Elizabeth is definitely not scared of yellows, oranges, and greens proving that being daring and taking a risk is much more fun than sticking to trends. And for someone whose co-star was 21-year-old Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth did sexy without looking like she was trying to compete she knows what suits her and she did it with aplomb. From the beginning of the year at the Oscars to The Hunger Games red carpet and all the other bits in between Elizabeth Banks is deserving of second place.

Bill Blass at the UK prmeiere of The Hunger Games

Atelier Versace // Marc Jacobs // Elie Saab

Chadwick Bell // Emilio Pucci // Elie Saab

1. Diane Kruger

I think as soon as she appeared on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival for the Opening Ceremony in May I knew there would be no other person that could top the following red carpet dresses that Diane wore for the event. Even beforehand she started the year in Prada at the Critics’ Choice Awards, Erdem in Paris, Giambattista Valli at the Berlin Film Festival, Jason Wu, and then in Calvin Klein for The Oscars. She stepped out in a purple Prada dress for the MET Gala that still has me on the fence, and then all of her fabulous Cannes looks from Giambattista Valli Couture, Nina Ricci, Christian Dior, Chanel, Calvin Klein, Prabal Gurung and the best of them all the Vivienne Westwood. For this she takes the top spot on my best dressed of 2012, I’m pretty biased when it comes to Diane Kruger anyway and she has the best accessory in Joshua Jackson which I’m sure sways it everytime she steps out with him. May another 2013 see Diane show everyone in Hollywood just how it is done.

Diane Kruger in Vivienne Westwood at the Amour premiere in Cannes 2012

Prada // Giambattista Valli // Erdem

Calvin Klein // Giambattista Valli Couture // Christian Dior

Nina Ricci // Calvin Klein // Chanel Couture

Prabal Gurung // Prada // Versus