First lady Peng Liyuan makes Vanity Fair's best-dressed list

What do Beyonce, Kate Middleton and Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping share in common?

They are all paragons of style, having been deemed the most "preened, polished, and poised of the fashion set", according to Vanity Fair's International Best-Dressed List for 2013.

Peng is not the first Chinese leading lady to make the list, but she has raised plenty of eyebrows by beating America's first lady, Michelle Obama.

Seventy years ago Soong May-ling, wife of Chiang Kai-shek, also made the cut. But since the dawn of the People's Republic, Chinese presidents' wives have never had a popular profile.

While her husband has declared war on extravagance, Peng has made a name for herself through her stylish outfits. Her "notable ensemble of 2013", according to Vanity Fair, was a black double-breasted, belted coat and handbag worn on her trip to Russia in March.

There was much speculation about the designer of the black leather handbag, which many believed was by Tod's, the luxury Italian brand. It was finally confirmed, with the jacket, to have been custom-made by Guangzhou-based brand Exception.