Kate Middleton tops fashion list

Britain's Kate Middleton has become the top word in fashion.

Prince William's bride-to-be is the highest-ranking fashion buzzword of the past year replacing flamboyant singer Lady Gaga.

It comes as Kate, 29, was thrust into the limelight in November when her engagement to William, 28, was announced.

Since then fashionistas have been focusing on the brunette's outfits with her famous blue Issa dress worn for the engagement announcement flying off the shelves within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the white £159 dress from high street store Reiss, chosen for her engagement photographs by Mario Testino, remain sold out in Britain but has been re-released in America today (10.02.11).

Lady Gaga topped last year's list thanks to her outrageous outfits including fishnets, leotard and nearly-naked costumes.

However even the Paparazzi singer's controversial meat dress worn at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards didn't knock pretty Kate off the top spot.

The statistics were revealed in a new survey by The Global Language Monitor, which analyses word usage trends around the world.

Other big buzzwords for the moment include 'Sheer' in third place followed by 'shirt dresses' and 'sustainable style', a growing trend of clothing made of recycled fabrics.

The words in the Global Language Monitor survey were chosen from the world fashion media, nominated by key fashionistas from around the world and tracked for their frequency and usage in English-speaking media outlets worldwide.