By Rachel Breitman

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - British soccer idol David Beckham and his wife Victoria have joined French President Nicolas Sarkozy on a list of world's best-dressed people compiled by Vanity Fair magazine.

The fashionable British duo, who have just moved to Los Angeles, were listed by the magazine as one of the world's 10 best-dressed couples alongside Hollywood star couples Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore.

The newly-elected French president made the 68th annual list for the first time, along with Michelle Obama, the wife of U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama, and former soccer star Hidetoshi Nakata.

"It's not just about how much someone spends, it is about having real elegance, style, and individuality," Vanity Fair special correspondent Amy Fine Collins said in an interview.

The September issue of the magazine, which hits national newsstands on Aug. 7, gave nods to musical, literary and philanthropic icons alike, whether known for their brains or their beauty.

The magazine said it searched beyond the silver screen and fashion runways to select 61 stars of style for the list.

Rocker Lenny Kravitz and former Giants running back and television commentator Tiki Barber both made the list for the second time after being selected in 2001 and 1998 respectively.

It was the second consecutive appearance for the perpetually black suit clad author Fran Lebowitz and actress Renee Zellweger.

Some well-known offspring were also been named to the list -- Ivanka Trump, real-estate developer and daughter of Donald Trump, and Bee Shaffer, Columbia University student and daughter of Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

The annual issue, started in 1940, tallies the votes of more than 1,000 tastemakers, from retailers to editors, fashion designers, restaurant owners and hairdressers.

"It's a democratic system like electing a president," Collins said.

"There is a committee like the electoral college that reviews the results, and chooses the top contenders."

Adding to its egalitarian style, the list doesn't rank its winners from greatest to least.

The fashion industry was represented by Ethiopian-born model Liya Kebede and American fashion designer Tory Burch.

Vanity Fair also elected a few names to its Best Dressed Hall of Fame for people showing consistently classic taste. Among this rarefied group were silver-haired newscaster Anderson Cooper and U.S. movie star George Clooney, famous for his clean white shirts and salt-and-pepper tresses, and filmmaker Sofia Coppola.