At StyleList, we really, truly like to salute brave fashion decisions and encourage every woman to find her own style. But Helena Bonham Carter? While this look may be individual, we're just not seeing a lot of style.

Carter, nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, is a beautiful woman with a presence. She doesn't need to walk a red carpet in this sort of attention-getting getup -- hair that looks like it came straight from 1991, a Vivienne Westwood dress that does not flatter her curvy hips (and we love those!) and mismatched shoes. Oh yeah, don't forget the little sunglasses.

In a world of over-styling, where every celebrity move is calculated, it might be refreshing to see a big star break the mold. But somehow, this look feels just as deliberate, and we'd rather she went for deliberately beautiful.

What do you think?

Oh, Snooki. So glad to know you are back to being the poufed-up, bold clothing, big-hooped earring gal we know and love.

After flirtations with a makeunder and flat hair in 2010, Snooki performed her own New Year's Eve ball drop in Seaside Heights, N.J., wearing a leopard-print wrap-style dress and hoop earrings so big her plastic beverage cup could have fit through them. Her pouf was in fine, fierce form. And who could miss the frosty blue eyeshadow?

It may be a new year, but perhaps its good to know some things don't appear to be changing.

Lots of other celebs rang in 2011 with their own personal style, too.



Kim Kardashian in Las Vegas was all old-school glam. (Thank goodness no cornrows!). Rihanna was almost prim, and decked in eye-catching red, and red hair.





In New York, Jennifer Hudson showed off her new figure, courtesy willpower and Weight Watchers, with Fergie, who was rather squeezed in to a metallic dress. And Ke$ha? We'll just let her look for speak for itself.

Here's what's happening around the Web today:

It's a quiet day in the U.S. while we all recover from turkey and family-overload (possibly also the reason this blog post comes to you a little later than usual today, ahem). And of course, there's a little excitement to be had at all those Black Friday sales.

But folks are still making style statements around the world:

• Gisele hits St. Barts in what can only be described as Davy Crockett tap pants. (Daily Mail)
• Sure the holiday window department store windows are hot in New York, but you're going to swoon over John Galliano's Christmas tree at Claridge's hotel in London. (Telegraph)
• Queen Elizabeth II is pretty in pink as she visits Oman, though no hat-scarf combo today. (Getty Images)

That's about it. Now get out there and shop those deals!

"The Lady Gaga shoes are here!"

That's pretty much all that needed to be said to cause a stampede to the StyleList fashion department.

Gaga basically lives in "the" sky-high, heel-less platforms, which look physically impossible to stand on, not to mention walk in. (In fact, the pop star suffered a humiliating face-plant courtesy of her over-the-top -- literally -- boots at London's Heathrow Airport in June.)

We just had to know if we'd suffer the same fate.

The creator of the famous footwear, 25-year-old Japanese designer Noritaka Tatehana, was kind enough to send us a pair of his gravity-defying designs -- in sparkly pink stingray -- straight off the Paris runways. Like a scene from "Cinderella," they turned out to be my size, so I got to be the Gaga guinea pig (watch the video, below).



They weren't as scary as I though they'd be. Once up and balanced -- my weight thrown forward, my steps small and careful -- I got used to them just as I did regular heels.

Of course, your average heel doesn't make your calves cramp and legs tremble, but perhaps that's just the learning curve for otherwise unused muscles. It reminded me of learning to go up on pointe shoes as a preteen ballerina.

Despite my unsteady gait, I have to say I loved being a full 10 inches taller. I'm just over 5 feet tall, and my short legs have long been the body part I most want to change.

In these shoes, I felt long, lithe, and a little more authoritative as I towered over the mere mortals who assembled to cheer me on (or maybe they were waiting to see if I fell). My boss pointed out that my proportions looked entirely different and that I looked -- yes! -- much thinner.

Even so, this particular design, which Tatehana said was his college graduation project, is obviously not for everyday wear. So if I want to look thinner and taller, maybe it would be wiser to invest the $6,500 shoe price in more Pilates classes.

But it was time for an expert to weigh in. I called Dr. James Christina, a podiatrist and director of scientific affairs for American Podiatric Medical Association, to ask him if my 10-inch heel-less platform shoes would cause foot damage.

He wasn't worried.



"They are changing the basic premise of support of where your body usually is," he said. "The natural response of your body is to try to put the heel down for some support."

But of course, in these shoes, I couldn't. If I had shifted my weight off the ball of my foot, it would have been lights out. My body was in conflict with itself. The shoes position the foot at such an extreme angle that there is little chance anyone could wear this design for very long, Dr. Christina said.

The good news is that there was no permanent damage done by me channeling an avant-garde performer for an hour. We can't say the same for Gaga.

Dr. Christina's recommendation for fashionable yet functional footwear? A 2-inch wedge heel. But he also said if I wanted to go higher or wear stilettos, that's fine too, as long as I wear other shoes on the subway and take breaks.

(For support reasons, he was actually partial to running shoes over ballet flats for the trek to work, but I'm not sure I'm willing to sacrifice that much style. No Melanie Griffith in "Working Girl" for me.)

His best advice to be stylishly shod and in good foot health? "Pay attention to your feet," he said. "Our bodies are designed pretty well. When there is something that hurts, there is a reason that hurts."

Good advice. So I took off the Gaga shoes, went back to my classic pumps (which now felt as flat as two pancakes on my feet), and deliberated if I was up for trying the meat dress next.

Speaking of which, click here to check out Lady Gaga's 10 most outrageous outfits.

And you MUST check out these vintage Gaga moments to see what she was like before she was famous!.

DESIGNER: Amy Smilovic of Tibi

INSPIRATION: "Spring is about beauty and classics with a thoroughly modern twist and styles that are simple with ease."

TOP LOOKS: "Basketweave" sleeveless dress with circle skirt; floral circle-skirt dress in "fennel"; open crochet sweater dress.

ACCESSORIES: Flat shoes! "Brogues" similar to jazz oxfords in basketweave and a black-and-white leopard print; leather loafers like I wore in eighth grade. On the high side, leather loafer wedges.

WHO WAS THERE: Olivia Palermo and enthusiastic customers wearing Tibi dresses.

WHAT WE THOUGHT: It's hard not to want just about everything on the Tibi runway because the clothes are so darn wearable.

Amy Smilovic gets modern women. Her smart tailoring and details flatter the wearer, but don't distract. In this collection, she uses texture as ornament in the form of macarame, laser cut-outs, appliques and flowing chiffons.

On the runway were swingy shorts and circle-skirts hitting at just the right length. They looked great on long-limbed models, but would become many body types.

Especially of note was the attention to detail in the backs of the dresses and tops. Many had pleats, seaming or an interesting cut. If you saw a woman from behind wearing one of these dresses at a cocktail party, you'd want to her to turn around so you could see the rest.