What's so wrong with using inline styles? I use them all the time for minor things that don't warrant a completely new style. For example, div#main might not always need to be floated left, and div.contentHeader could only need the top margin for the first one.

Also, validation, though it looks good, doesn't mean a site is better than another. I could write crappy code, but still get it to validate, but that doesn't mean it is good code.