China's first lady Peng Liyuan makes Vanity Fair's best dressed list

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Peng Liyuan smiles after arriving at the government airport Vnukovo II, outside Moscow in March. Photo: AP

Published: 11:09am, 1 Aug 2013Updated: 2:15pm, 1 Aug 2013

Seventy years after China’s Madame Chiang Kai-shek made it to the "best dressed women in wartime" list in 1943, it is now first lady Peng Liyuan's turn.

The wife of President Xi Jinping has earned a coveted spot on the fashion magazine’s International Best Dressed list, cementing her status as the stylish first lady of China.

She ranks with fashion icons Justin Timberlake, the Duchess of Cambridge, Victoria Beckham and American burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese. Peng is the only Chinese person to have made the list this year.

More: photo gallery of fashion-foward Peng Liyuan

Madame Chiang Kai-shek made to Vanity Fair’s best dressed list in 1943. Photo: Screenshot via Jing Daily

Introduced as UN World Health Organisation goodwill ambassador for tuberculosis and HIV/Aids, Vanity Fair picked Peng’s black double-breasted, belted coat and handbag by Chinese fashion label Exception - worn during her trip to Russia - as her “notable ensemble of 2013”.

Peng’s maiden overseas trip with Xi to Russia won her praise from people at home and abroad. Her choice of home-grown designer brands has been hailed as a boon for China's fashion industry.

A microblogger compared Peng with Madame Chiang Kai-shek. "Although they are from different times, they posess similar charms," he wrote.

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