Sarong-wearing England captain David Beckham has done little to improve the British sense of fashion, according to a survey.

Less than a quarter of those questioned said they liked to keep up with the latest fashions, only 43 per cent thought they had any style and a mere 14 per cent wanted to stand out in a crowd.

The French are Europe's most fashion-conscious, the poll found, with 38 per cent aware of the latest trends and 62 per cent keen to dress well.

Germans are most likely to be seen in a garish shirt, with 25 per cent happy to stand out from the crowd, despite just 28 per cent thinking they had any fashion-sense.

The results come from a survey of almost 60,000 people across Europe, published by market analysts Mintel.

Clothing chains Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), Zara and Mango have seen the biggest growth since 1998, it found. H&M almost doubled its sales between 1998 and 2002 to reach almost £3.3 billion last year, making it Europe's third largest clothing retailer, behind C&A in second and Marks & Spencer in first place.

According to Mintel, Marks & Spencer sold £4.1 billion-worth of clothes in Europe last year, almost £695 million above C&A, which recently pulled out of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Monday December 01, 2003