Take a quick look at your closet right now. (Go ahead, we'll wait.) Chances are, more than a few pieces in there were directly influenced by some of the biggest trend setters, fashion role models and creative thinkers in our list of the year's top stylemakers.
Take for instance, Michelle Obama and Kate Middleton. These style icons for their respective nations are both at the pinnacle of taste and trendsetting, and also simultaneously right down here on earth with the rest of us—one reason among so many we love them. They mix high and low fashions, proudly repeat outfits (just like us!) and cause just about anything they wear to sell out in stores.
And then there are the folks commanding the style blogosphere: Cupcakes and Cashmere's Emily Schuman, Fashiontoast's Rumi Neely, The Man Repeller's Leandra Medine and Bryanboy of the eponymous blog.
It's a world in which bloggers take their place next to traditional editors as the ultimate arbiters of style—not to mention in fashion weeks' front rows. And these folks have massive influence across multiple media, huge social followings and major collaborations in the real world.
And then there's Target and Phillip Lim, who just yesterday launched the 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target collection in stores. (Was that you we saw clutching a venti Starbucks cappuccino in the parking lot at 6 a.m.?) It's all part of the retailer's proud tradition of bringing us amazing designer collaborations from the likes of Missoni, Rodarte, Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung. (Thanks, Tar-zhay!)
And that's just the start of it. Check out our gallery of Stylemakers and then check back all week when we'll take a closer look at which celebrities and role models had the biggest effect on style in 2013.