X FACTOR FASHION ROUND-UP

The competition is heating up on the X Factor, but it's as much about the style now as the singing.

The four remaining female contestants may have been battling it out on the stage, but we all know that it's their fashion picks that really gets the nation talking.

For yet another week, we have to applaud Alexandra's stylist for her sartorial choices. In a Reiss bustier dress (that the marieclaire.co.uk desk has been lusting after for weeks), the singer looked stunning, although we'd have ditched the purple belt and kept things simple.

Making a welcome return, Diana may not have been on form vocally, but she looked pretty-as-a-picture in her nude Topshop minidress.

Rachel meanwhile made a vast improvement on previous weeks, ditching the ill-fitting dresses for a pair of sharp tailored trousers and a Karen Millen blouse. Full marks for fashion progress, but next time ditch the contrast pink shoes.

Saving the worst till last, we are left with Ruth. Her prom dress looked more suited to Halloween, with its shredded skirt and tea-stained shade. All she needed was some fake blood, and the look would have been pure corpse bride.

Of course the fiercest fashion competition has to be reserved for the judges, Danni Minogue and Cheryl Cole, as both battle it out for the title of most glamorous. This week, there was no contest, and Dannii won with flying colours, for her blue maxi dress, red heels and sweet side-swept bun.

As much as it pains us to say, Cheryl wasn't quite so successful. Her bizarre white dress with cut-away sleeves was a harsh choice. Not to load on the criticism, but the heavy make-up, particularly her garish pink lips, really didn’t help matters.

Less slap, more style, next week please Mrs Cole.

Last up, and this week's celebrity guest, Leona Lewis, took to the stage in a frothy concoction of a dress just didn't hit the right spot. We like the strapless shape on her, but the full skirt, which cut short at the front and graduated to a longer back looked more pantomime than prime-time TV.