What on Earth were You Wearing on X Factor Cheryl?

KOMPAS.com - Every week, Cheryl Cole looks to the expert advice of her stylists as she continues to fight the fashion war with Dannii Minogue on The X Factor. But despite the £200,000 she is said to spend on her appearance every year, the Girls Aloud singer struck a wrong note with this fashion monstrosity.

As she walked down the stage during Saturday's live show, Cheryl drew gasps from her fellow judges and the audience with her eccentric ensemble. Of all the hot-off-the-catwalk couture Cheryl had to choose from, she tried to embrace the theme of rock week by literally wearing hardware on her black mini-dress.

Cheryl upped the raunchy factor with her figure-hugging black dress with metal piping framing the fanned bodice and over-the-knee boots. At one point during the live show, fellow judge Simon Cowell advised Cheryl: 'You've got to sit up.'

Cheryl, who was leaning forward, asked why and was immediately embarrassed when Simon hinted the dress wasn't quite covering her modesty: 'You'll see why...' But despite finding the courage to take a style risk last night with her brave ensemble, Cheryl has taken a long time to find her fashion feet.

Seven years ago, she was a cute and curvy 19-year-old waitress in Newcastle with dreams of becoming a pop star. Now, she’s transformed herself into the nation’s sweetheart – a completely different girl from the one who auditioned for Pop Stars: The Rivals. But it hasn’t come cheap.

Back in 2002, Cheryl Tweedy was heavier, her clothes were unremarkable and her smile, though pleasant, was crooked. Now singer and X Factor judge Cheryl Cole spends tens of thousands of pounds a year maintaining a flawless appearance.

She is the face of L’Oreal cosmetics and, together with her footballer husband Ashley, is said to be worth £17 million. She has been voted the Best Dressed Woman of 2009 by the readers of Tatler and Glamour magazines and employs top stylists to ensure she gets designer labels straight off the catwalk, months before they reach the stores.

She has a make-up artist to advise her against slathering on too much fake tan, weekly blow-drys, hair extensions, eyelash extensions and a strict diet to look every inch the A-list star. Hair: Celebrity hairdresser Julien Guyonnet transformed Cheryl’s girl-next-door bob into a Sixties-inspired bouffant masterpiece with acrylic fibre hair extensions, to give volume to her hair.

‘She comes in once every three months for the extensions and every six weeks for a tidy-up,’ says Guyonnet. The extensions take about four hours to attach and are thought to cost £750 a time. Cheryl’s personal stylist Lisa Laudat blow-dries her hair for the X Factor performances. Ms Laudat, who has also styled Girls Aloud, is on a salary of £40,000 a year to look after Cheryl.

Skin Tone and Make-up: In the early days of Girls Aloud, Cheryl had a less-is-more approach when it came to make-up. Although she has always worn heavy mascara, she did not use much foundation or powder, which resulted in a redder skin tone.