Style on Trial: Loopy cardigan by Simone Shailes

Did you ever have a loopy jacket when you were a baby? The Fashion Police did, and we even had loopy hats to match! Clearly we were very fashion-forward babies, and way ahead of our time, for Simone Shailes has designed this version of the loopy jacket, which is sold at Topshop for the "bargain" price of £250. [Edit: now down to £60 in the sale. We wonder why?]

As adults, we think there's a bit too much bulk there for our current tastes, and so we're probably going to just try and forget our loopy-cardigan-wearing pasts, but we do find this design interesting and, for reasons we can't quite explain, want to run our hands all over it.

What do you think, readers? Love? Hate? Indifference? Tell us!

Style on Trial: Leopard print top by Sara Berman

Now, we know some of you are going to be seriously questioning our sanity with this one, and trust us, we're just as surprised as you are to find ourselves lusting after this Sara Berman top. We are, after all, always banging on about how we'll wear animal print on shoes and accessories and nothing else, but we just can't help but want to make an exception for this, with it's Peter Pan collar, puff sleeves and bow. It has a fab, retro feel to it, and we think it could look fabulous worn with a pencil skirt or pair of skinny jeans. The quiff this model is wearing is just the perfect finishing touch, too.

We have a feeling this is going to be a controversial one, purely because of the animal print, which we know many of you feel shouldn't appear on anything, under any circumstances, which is why we're putting it On Trial. What do you think, readers: are you willing to make an exception for this top, or is it still a crime of fashion?

Style On Trial: Givenchy's Black Spazzolato feather shoes

We've spoken before of our reservations concerning feathers. In simple terms, we prefer them on birds. Live ones, that is. When they're not attached to birds? Well, we find them a little bit creepy, to be honest. It's not a fashion thing: it's one of those totally inexplicable phobia things, and we have absolutely no idea where it came from, but we do know it makes us ill-qualified to stand in judgment on these Givenchy Spazzolato shoes. We just can't be unbiased when all we can think of is those icky feathers brushing against our bare ankles, but we have a sneaking suspicion that, feather phobia aside, they may be really quite beautiful, with the right outfit.

Are we right? Are these shoes "heavenly", as Zappos say, or do you prefer not to wear feathers on your feet, thanks very much? 

Style on Trial: Yves St Laurent's patchwork long boots

For a while now, The Fashion Police have been picking up murmurings about "the return of boho". Now, these Yves St Laurent boots would probably fit in pretty well with that whole vibe, but we still haven't fully recovered from the last onslaught of boho, so we're not sure if we should allow the "trend" to go any further, or if we should just whisk these off to the Fashion Police jail and hope that's the last we hear of it.

The thing is, there's a part of us that quite likes these. They look good quality, they're different from all the other boring knee high boots out there and... did we mention the quality? On the other hand, though, they look a lot like mutant clogs, too, and when we try to imagine clopping along in them, we're reminded of the sound Shire horses hooves make when they clop along.

What do you think, readers? To the Fashion Police jail, or do these deserve a reprieve?

Style on Trial: Topshop Unique one shoulder print dress

It's Pebbles Flinstone's prom dress, folks!

Well, that's what it looks like to us, anyway, but then, we never were fans of the whole "two different prints occupying one dress" thing. In fact, if it was up to us, and we actually managed to arrest this dress, we'd force those two prints to fight to the death, with one finally claiming supremacy and reigning over the dress as its sole print. And even then, we wouldn't wear it,

What about you, though? Topshop Unique have priced this dress at £95 - would you buy it, or do you find it guilty of crimes of fashion?

Style on Trial: See by Chloe Daisy print dress

Sometimes in the depths of winter it can be good to give your outfits a burst of colour - especially if you're planning on travelling somewhere hot, which is, after all, what the cruise collections are designed for.

Sometimes, though, it can be all too easy to go too far with that whole "burst of colour" thing, and we're wondering if that's the case with this See by Chloe dress, which is $695 at Nordstrom. It's either adorable and fun or it's the kind of thing that'll make the people around you glad they're wearing dark glasses. Either way, that print will get you noticed, but will it be for all the right reasons or all the wrong ones?

This dress is On Trial, folks: tell us - what do you think of it?

Shoe Style on Trial: Poste Mistress 'Act on Impulse' leather shoes

Poste Mistress aren't exactly known for making safe, sensible shoes that you can wear to go and visit your granny in, so these shoes aren't much of a departure for them. What we want to know, though, is whether you like them or not.

We find ourselves admiring certain elements of the shoe: the mink/grey colour is nice, as is the button detailing on the sides (We're suckers for buttons. Really.), but were the spats really necessary, we wonder? Or do they look a little bit like elephant skin - grey and wrinkled and, yes, ever so slightly creepy. (No offense to any elephants who happen to be reading this. Your skin is lovely - on you...)

Overall, we don't think we'd rush to buy them, although we do concede that they're better in black than they are in the picture shown above. What's the verdict, then, Fashion Force? Guilty or innocent of Crimes Against Fashion?

(If you find them innocent, you can buy them from Office for £110).

Style on Trial: Vera Wang's rhinestone snake collar

We'd have said your opinions on this snake collar by Vera Wang would probably depend on whether you love snakes or hate them, but the truth is, we neither love nor particularly hate our slithery, scaly friends (OK, we wouldn't want to find one in bed with us, but you know what we mean...) and we still can't quite decide how we feel about this piece. We can kinda see Net-a-Porter's point about it making a "statement", but we're just not sure whether that statement is one we'd really want to make. We are, after all, Gryffindor House all the way...

The £455 price tag would be the deciding factor here either way, because that's just a little out of our price range for snake-inspired jewellery, but even if it wasn't, we think that snake is probably just a little too chunky for comfort. What do you think readers? Would you wear it? If so, you can buy it at Net-a-Porter.

Style on Trial: Maison Martin Margiela varnished heel pumps

You don't have to be Nancy Drew to figure out that The Fashion Police aren't exactly big fans of Martin Margiela's pieces of, er, "wearable art" so it was as much of a surprise to us as it probably is to you regular readers when we found ourselves drawn to these varnished heel pumps of his when we came across them on eLuxury this week.

We think the appeal here is the fact that these look a little bit like the kind of shoes a cartoon villain would wear. Maybe it's because we kind of are cartoon villains, but we quite like that. What do you think, though, readers? Love, hate or indifference?

Style on Trial: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Party Girl' fringed bag

We think "fun" was probably the word Marc Jacobs had in mind when he created this 'Party Girl' fringed shoulder bag. Unfortunately, "made by a child" are the words running through our minds when we look at it, because it's the kind of thing we'd have brought home from school as a craft project when we were about eight years old.

Who's right, though? Is Marc Jacobs correct in thinking that this is a fun, colourful handbag, such as a "party girl" might wear, or do you agree with The Fashion Police? This bag is On Trial, readers: will you convict or acquit?

Puma's 'Sabadella Sequin' Slip-On: love or hate 'em?

Party shoe, meet sneaker. Jaw, meet floor.

We jest, of course: Puma's sequined 'Sabadella' shoes aren't exactly jaw-dropping, but we have to admit, we'd be hard-pressed to think of a single occassion when we've found ourselves in need of a sequined shoe that is also suitable for sports. Then again, maybe we're just going to the wrong parties, who knows, and hey, if you absolutely must wear sneakers, we guess covering part of them with sneakers could be a good idea. We guess.

What do you think, readers? Would you buy these? Where would you wear them?

Style on Trial: Pink satin tulip dress from Dorothy Perkins

Tulip shaped skirts and dresses have been with us for a couple of seasons now, and, for the most part, The Fashion Police have been on board with that. Sure, they create a little bit of extra volume around the hip area, but you know, it can't be all figure-skimming all the time, and that little bit of extra room.. well, it can be good n' comfy, no?

This dress, though. Well. Look, we were up late last night. We're tired. And the coffee clearly hasn't quite kicked in yet, because when we look at this dress, we're seeing a... . It looks like a... . No. No, we're not going to go there. We're pretty sure it's just us, anyway, so we're going to go and pour some more coffee, and in the meantime, we're going to leave this one with you, oh wise ones. What do you think of this dress? Crime of Fashion? Totally fabulous? Tell us!

Red Carpet Fashion: Diane Kruger at the premier of 'Pour Elle'

Wow, what a beautiful dress! What a beautiful... 50s wedding dress! And there's the rub: stark white dresses can look just a tad bridal, but we love the classic cut of this one, worn by Diane Kruger to the 'Pour Elle' premiere this weekend, and we love the way she's worn it with a pair of bright red shoes, too.  We still look like she's on her way to an (albeit stylish) 50s wedding, and that she could maybe stand to loose a couple of inches off the hem, but we're feeling generous today, so we still find ourselves liking it.

What do you think of this look on Diane?

Style on Trial: Matthew Williamson's multi-coloured dress

Some of you said you really quite liked the colourful Matthew Williamson dress we featured in last week's Wear or Die, so we thought we'd put you to the test once again with a dress by the same designer. This one isn't quite as colourful as last week's effort, but it still had us reaching for the migraine tablets as soon as we laid eyes on it, so we'll be interested to hear what you think of it.

This is $1,195 from Browns. Is it a crime of fashion, though, or would you happily wear it?

Maggie Gyllenhaal: mumsy or marvellous?

Ah, the mystery that is Maggie Gyllenhaal! If you're a fashion blogger, it's almost compulsory to worship at her style altar, but here's the thing: while we don't deny that Maggie's a great actress and good lookin' woman, The Fashion Police often think she dresses like someone in her 40s, who lives in a conservative small town, and maybe works in a school or something.  Her clothes frequently add around ten years to her age, and while this dress is pretty enough in itself, and certainly doesn't look bad on her, as far as red carpet looks go, we've seen better.

But that's just us, and we do seem to have something of a blind-spot when it comes to Maggie, so we ask you: is this look marvelous on her, or is it just a little bit mumsy?

Style on Trial: Ankle socks with heels

Ankle socks with high heels. It's one of those looks that we seem to see all the time in fashion editorials but have yet to witness in Real Life - although the fact that Fashion Police HQ is located in The Land That Fashion Forgot may have something to do with this.

What does everyone think of this look? We'll be the first to put our hands up and admit we wouldn't touch it with a bargepole, and before you all start with the "that's because you're old" comments, let us just say that:

a) yes, we are

b) but we don't really like this look on younger people, either

What about you? Do you wear ankle socks with heels? Would you? Tell us!

(The socks and shoes in the image, by the way, are from ASOS)

Celebrity Style on Trial: Blake Lively's maxi dress

Because of our Gossip Girl fixation, The Fashion Police feel obliged to like Blake Lively. And we do! We really do. We can't help but wonder, however, whether Blake may have taken the "cleavage OR legs" rule just a little too literally here. Sure, we appreciate the attempt to balance out the so-low-we're-waiting-for-a-nipple-slip nature of the top half of her dress with a longer bottom half, but ... did it have to be quite so low? Or quite so "90s peasant chic"?

We don't know. What we do know is that Serena wouldn't ever wear something like this, but then, perhaps that's the whole point here. What do you think, readers: a good look?

Celebrity Style on Trial: Hilary Duff at MTV's TRL "Total Finale Live"

We see what Hillary Duff was trying to do here, of course. She's taken a short, low-cut dress and tried to give it an air of respectability by encasing it within a longer, higher-necked, albeit totally transparent dress. Or its designer has, anyway.

We'll give her a couple of points for effort (and because we like her hair), but ultimately we have to call "foul" on this one because...meh. Just pick and style and stick to it, Hilary! We can't be doing with this "neither one thing nor another" look, and we can't rightly say why. We think it may be something to do with the fact that, rather than making the super-short dress look slightly more demure, the transparent overlay only serves to draw attention to its super-shortness.

Oh, we don't know. And we loved her "Look! I'm going to the election" look a couple of weeks back, so maybe we're being too hard on Hil. What do you think, readers? Crime of fashion, or super-cute? Hilary shows us the back view under the jump...

Style On Trial: Sheer boned skirt by Boutique

Not content with the sheer trousers they unleashed upon the world last week, Boutique are now also selling this sheer boned skirt on the Topshop website for the grand price of £50.

"That's all very well, Fashion Police," we hear you ask, "but why is it On Trial? The Fashion Police hate sheer garments with a fiery passion. Why not just throw it straight into the slammer, like you do with everything else that can have the word "sheer" attached to it".

It's a good question, young Jedis, and we're glad you asked it. The thing is, we're not completely convinced this skirt is a crime of fashion. We'll just let you pick your jaw off the floor before we go any further, here...

Back with us? OK, so as we were saying, while our immediate instinct was to look at this skirt and think "Like hell we would," it was clearly designed to be worn over the top of something (another skirt, maybe, or a pair of skinny jeans or... something), and actually, we think we can see the potential there. Don't laugh. Sometimes it's good to try something different, and while we're not going to be trying this one ourselves, we're wondering whether you would?

In other words: is this skirt guilty or innocent of Crimes Against Fashion?

Style on Trial: Christian Louboutin's fringed peep toe boots

Christian Louboutin rarely falls out of favour with The Fashion Police, so these boots have come as something of a shock, it must be said. It's a bit like that moment when you find out your parents aren't actually infallible, and it kind of sucks, really.

The fringes themselves we can deal with: there is a version of this boot that has a "normal" front to it, and we're totally down with those, as are the many celebrities they've been seen on. Why then, having created a boot that had absolutely nothing wrong with it, did Louboutin have to do and do this, we wonder? Why, for the love of God, did he go and attach the fringed leg to a peep toe?

We don't know. We really don't. The Fashion Police are not always right, though, which is why we turn to you, readers, in our hour of need. Is it true that Louboutin has messed up here, do you think, or are these boots actually perfectly acceptable, and it's just our "peep toe boot" bias guiding us wrong?

Style on Trial: Mina d'Ornano doll pendants

Dolls. They're one of those "love 'em or loathe 'em" kind of things, aren't they? Or at least, they are when you're an adult. Some people love them, collect them, and generally can't get enough of them. Others find them... a little bit creepy, to be absolutely honest.

We think the ones on Mina d'Ornano's pendants probably fall into the "a little bit creepy" category, regardless of whether you're a doll lover or not, but that's probably the whole point: the one shown above, for instance, is the "Evil Guest Doll". Hard not to be just a little bit freaked by that, no?

You'll find a couple of close-ups of these under the jump. What do you think of them, though? Would you wear a giant, scary doll around your neck? What if the giant, scary doll cost £941? Would that change your mind? If not, you can buy these at CoutureLab

Celebrity Style on Trial: Gemma Arterton at the James Bond: Quantum of Solace London premiere

This dress is what we call a "crotch warmer": the front serves no other purpose other than to cover the crotch and no more, while the back flows out, preserving a small sense of modesty. It's the kind of dress you'd wear if you wanted something long and dramatic for a special event, but really, really couldn't stand the thought of not showing off your (admittedly great) legs.

Gemma Arterton seems pretty pleased with her choice here, but what do you think, Fashion Police jurors? Stunning, or an arrestable offense?

Haute Halloween: 'Witch' costume by Moschino

Happy Halloween, Fashion Police Cadets! Aren't you just kicking yourselves over the fact that it's now too late to order this fantastic "slutty witch" costume by Moschino? Just add a pointy hat and a broomstick and you're done!

Ah well, never mind, there's always next year. But isn't it strange how something that costs £715 can look so very cheap? 

Style on Trial: hairy jumper by Kate Moss for Topshop

Of all of the items of clothing in Kate Moss' latest collection for Topshop, this is the one that puzzles us most. Because it's a hairy jumper. Yes, a hairy jumper - words to strike fear into our hearts if ever we heard them. Now, The Fashion Police aren't really down with hairy jumpers, and we suspect the reasons for this are probably self-explanatory (the fact that you'll look almost exactly like a bear in it figures highly, though), but we have to assume there was some reason why Kate Moss and the good people at Topshop decided this had to be made available to the public, so we're putting it up On Trial.

It's available in either black or grey, is £45, and, lest you forget, is a hairy jumper. What do you think, readers: a crime of fashion, or just a great way to keep warm in the winter?

Style on Trial: tartan trousers

Now, we've already made our feelings on tartan pretty clear and our opinions haven't changed, particularly on the "tartan trews" front, as we tend to associate these with elderly golfers and Agyness Deyn, neither of which we particularly want to start emulating.

We're well aware that our irrational bias against tartan leaves us ill-qualified to judge on this one, though, so we ask you, our readers: what do you think of tartan trousers? Will you be wearing them?

(The ones pictured, by the way, are from New Look, just in case you're tempted...)

Kate Bosworth in Burberry Prorsum's feathered dress

This Burberry Prorsum feathered dress has really been around the houses... It featured in UK Vogue's Diary of a Dress this month, and has been seen on the likes of Agyness Deyn and Jessica de Rothschild, as well as appearing in fashion spreads just about everywhere. Now here's Kate Bosworth with both the dress and it's maker, Christopher Bailey , turning up at an event to honour Donatella Versace in NYC last night.

What do you think of it, though, readers? Is this really the "It" dress of the season, as the widespread coverage would seem to suggest?

Celebrity Style on Trial: Mandy Moore at the Vanity Fair Portraits Gala

From the neck up and from the waist down, we think Mandy Moore looks fantastic here. Sleek, elegant, sexy - pretty damn hawt, no?

It's the middle part we have issues with. That almost-a-shress bodice, and the whole "here are my boobs and here is my bra"-ness of it. Of course, a little bit of cleavage can go a long way, but this is not a "little bit" of cleavage, really, which is why Mandy here finds herself up On Trial.

What do you think, folks? Love it? Hate it? Totally indifferent to it? Tell us! (You can view the bodice in close-up after the jump to help make your mind)

Style on Trial: Jil Sander's platform peep toe boots

Ah, our old nemesis, the peep toe boot! Hybrid shoes and Crocs aside (obviously), they're the footwear style we have the least love for, but of course, that's just us. Jil Sander has tried to give us another reason to buy these ones by adding the strange "sole fin" you see in the pictures above. It has a slightly lethal look to it, especially when viewed from behind, that makes us think of shark fins and vampire teeth and other sharp, pointy things. Well, it is almost Halloween...

What say you to these, readers? Should we covict or acquit them on the charge of Crimes Against Fashion? (If you choose acquit, these are £505 from Browns).

Celebrity Style on Trial: Paz Vega at Spike TV's Scream 2008 Awards

Dollface loved Paz Vega's makeup and hair when she wrote about her yesterday, but The Fashion Police aren't quite so convinced by the dress the Spanish actress wore to Spike TV's Scream 2008 Awards. We can kinda see where she was going with this: we think she was probably aiming for an old-school glamour, Dita von Teese-esque look, but we don't think Dita would wear something quite so 80s, so this falls a little bit short of the mark, ending up more "Retro Barbie" instead.

Or does it?

What do you think, readers? Should we convict or acquit Paz Vega of crimes against fashion?

Style on Trial: Sergio Rossi's embroidered thigh-high boots

Whoa. These are... interesting. Most of the time when someone says "thigh high boots" we think "Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman", but not this time, and not only because Julia's character would've had to have worked a lot of hours to afford these £2,975 babies...

No, we're not feeling "Pretty Woman" here. In fact, we're not really sure what we're feeling about these. We would say "rustic peasant", but of course, not many rustic peasants have a spare £3000 to throw around on boots either, and we're guessing they'd be pretty impractical when it came to milking the cows, or whatever it is that rustic peasants do.

Instead, then, we're thinking, "Sienna Miller". Which might actually be worse, now we come to think of it.

What do you think of these, folks? Love them? Hate them? Want to pay £2975 for them? Head over to Net-a-Porter to make them yours...

Celebrity Style on Trial: Mel B's pink hooded dress at the MOBO Awards 2008

She's never been known for being particularly "safe" when it comes to fashion (remember all that animal print in her Spice Girls days?) but we're going to be honest here: when we first saw this picture of Mel B at last week's MOBO Awards, we though the dress was giving birth to her. Take a look at her head emerging from its pink, er, lips, and you'll maybe see what we mean...

We also thought a "less is more" policy on the boobs could've been a good thing, but hey, sometimes an "if ya got it, flaunt it" policy can work too, and there's no denying - Mel here has got it. And by "it" we mean "a figure The Fashion Police would kill for". And when we saw her actually presenting, and sans hood, this look seemed a whole lot better somehow.

Our question then, is this: is Mel B guilty of crimes against fashion here, or is this just an eye-catching and original dress which she looks great in? Only you can decide, readers, and you'll find one more picture under the jump to help you out...

Nights in white satin: Katie Holmes at the opening night of All My Sons

Katie Holmes managed to get us all talking during rehearsals for her Broadway play All My Sons, by turning up each day in a seemingly endless collection of jeans, but if you thought the fashion show was over now the show has opened, think again. Here's Katie on opening night, with her usual Tom Cruise accessory and wearing ... well. It's a kind of 'genie suit' isn't it? One with cuffed pants and a black lace insert at the top.

So, just to confirm, that's white satin + black lace + cuffed pants + Tom Cruise. When we add that little lot up we get "not her greatest look" as our answer, but hey, we're cops, not mathematicians, so we're interested to hear what you think of this look on Katie Holmes. Should we let her off (after all, she's been looking pretty cute lately, it has to be said), or is this an arrestable offence?

One more picture of Katie and Tom after the jump to help you decide...

Style on Trial: Rachel Pally's 'Kate' jumpsuit

Our thoughts on jumpsuits almost always seem to end up causing controversy, so this time round we're going to say absolutely nothing about Rachel Pally's backless 'Kate' jumpsuit (other than to state that it's $209 and available from Shopbop), and let you be The Fashion Police instead.

What do you think, fashion jurors? Crime of fashion? Totally and utterly fabulous in every way imaginable? Something else? You decide!

Style on Trial: Stella McCartney's faux sheepskin platform boots

Stella McCartney has been doing some amazing things with wedge heels this season. Are these one of those amazing things, though? We're going to let you be the judge of that. What we'll tell you, though (and we're in no way trying to influence your decision here), is that this is the kind of thing people are probably talking about when they say they'd never wear Uggs, on account of there being lots of equally warm and comfortable options out there that don't make you look like Bigfoot. In other words, they're high heeled, wedge Uggs. Vegetarian ones, obviously - that's not real sheepskin, but it'll hopefully still be warm. Oh, and they're £845 at Net-a-Porter

What do you think of them, readers? Love? Hate? Indifferent? Tell!

Handbag Style on Trial: Marc by Marc Jacobs Graffiti Tote

Every so often in the world of fashion, some designer will wake up in the morning thinking, "Hey! You know what would make a really great print on my fantastic items? Graffiti, that's what!" This season, that designer is Marc Jacobs, whose Graffiti Tote is part of the current Marc by Marc Jacobs line, and available at Saks for $148. But what do we all think of it?

The Fashion Police have to put their hands up here and say we see more than enough graffiti in the area around the HQ (those fashion criminals can be messy) to want to see even more of it on our clothes and accessories, and out slight OCD tendencies would make us want to scrub this bag clean every time we used it. But that's just us. What say you to this one, Fashion Jurors? Will you convict or acquit it of crimes of fashion?

Style on Trial: Cesare Paciotti's platform 'Donna' pumps

These shoes look a little bit like a craft project of some kind - and we don't necessarily mean that in a bad way, you understand. They're Cesare Paciotti's "Donna" pumps, and they're one of three designs featuring this multicolured patchwork on the heels and sides. Like them? We go back and forward on this one: we think they could be fabulous with the right outfit, but then again, we also think we might just prefer them sitting out on display. What about you, though? Is it love, hate, or something in-between?

Style on Trial: Bright pink platform 'America' boots from Topshop

It's kind of a cross between a pink Doctor Marten and one of those stiletto Timberland boots that used to give us nightmares a couple of years back, isn't it? And we're not sure what it was that made Topshop decide to call these "America", but we can tell you they're available in black, white and brown as well as the colour we think of "pepto pink" and are £85.

We find it hard to see past the pink here, and we're not particularly fond of lace-ups at the best of times. Both of these issues are possibly clouding our vision (well, those and the fact that we can totally imagine Agyness Deyn in them, and that's usually a good indication that we'll hate something), which is why we're turning this decision over to you, readers.

Are they a crime of fashion? Should we convict or acquit?

Style on Trial: Selected Femme leopard print silk maxi dress

We tend to think of maxi dresses as very much a "summer" item, but here we are at the very start of October, and ASOS have just stocked up on this pink, leopard-print maxi dress, presumably so we can all swish through the autumn leaves (and mud, and rain, and slush) in it. Hmmm.

Now, we have to confess that maxi dresses aren't really our thing at any time of year, because as much as we'd like to like them, they just don't suit us, and also make us feel a little like we're starring in a costume drama as The Madwoman In the Attic. Which, OK, is pretty much what this dress makes us think of.

We're clearly biased here, though, which is why we're putting the dress in question up On Trial, to allow you, the Fashion Police Jury, to decide its fate. Is it a crime of fashion? Does it make you think of Victorian nightwear? Or do you actually love it, and think it should be acquitted of all crimes? Cast your vote under the jump!

(Oh, and if you like it, it's £129 at ASOS...)

Shoe Style on Trial: Irregular Choice's 'Cortesan' flower courts

We know what we think of these Cortesan court shoes by Irregular Choice, but on the other hand, we also know that Irregular Choice shoes, by their very nature, tend to inspire very strong reactions in people, and so rather than tell you what we think of them, we're just going to sit back, relax, and let you tell us what you you think. Because, quite frankly, after the drop-crotch leggings we showed you earlier today, we could be doing with a break...

Have at them, then readers: tell us what you think!

Style on Trial: Ripped jeans

There was a time when ripped jeans were seen on just about every second person. That time was called "the 80s". And, OK, a good part of the 90s, too. Actually, to be fair, ripped jeans have never really disappeared from the fashion radar, but as we policed the web this week, we noticed more of them than usual in stock at our usual retail haunts, which made us wonder: what do you think of them?

The ripped black skinnies in the picture above are £45 from Topshop while the blue boyfriend jeans are $215 and by What Comes Around Goes Around. Personally, if we were going to wear this look, we don't think we'd pay for a pair of pre-ripped jeans, because we think ripped jeans look better when they happen naturally, to a soft, worn old pair of faded Levi's, say, than they do when someone has clearly spent a lot of time creating that "I've had these forever" look. Not to mention the fact that it's just way cheaper to rip your own than to buy someone else's, no?

We also think the look is better on the jeans on the right of the picture than the ones on the left, which have been more shredded than ripped, and look a little (OK, a lot) too contrived for our tastes.

What do you think, though? Do you like ripped jeans, and if so, do you buy them pre-ripped, or do you just rip them yourself?

Shoe Style on Trial: Steve Madden's peep toe 'Midory' booties

We've spoken out before about the contradiction-in-climate-control that is the peep toe boot. 'Fickle' is our middle name, though, and as time has gone on, we have to admit we've occasionally found ourselves wondering if we may have been mistaken. Sure, some peep toe boots are, indeed, abominations, but others... maybe not so much?

Take a look at Steve Madden's 'Midory" boots, for instance, which are available in many more colours than we've shown here. We feel like we shouldn't really like these, but for some reason, we're still drawn to them, despite the fact that we know we'd take two steps out of Fashion Police HQ in them, and then be forced to suffer the pain of wet, frozen toes all day long. Yes, even if we wore tights with them.

See, now we don't like them again. You see what we mean about "fickle"?

Help us out, here, readers. What do you say: Crime of Fashion or not?

Shoe Style on Trial: Emanuel Ungaro branch sandals

All day we've been veering wildly between thinking these are fabulous and thinking they're ... just a bit strange, really... and so we've decided to hand the decision over to you, Fashion Police Jurors.

They're Emanuel Ungaro's 'Branch Sandals', and as the the name suggests, they're sandals designed to look - from the back at least - like they've been fashioned from a few bits of branches. Cunning, no? The Fashion Police are reassured to know that, should we ever find ourselves stranded in the middle of a mighty forest, we will at least be able to make ourselves a pair of strappy stilettos. We don't really care about being eaten by bears: as long as we got the shoes, we'll cope just fine...

What do you think of these, though? We're happy to see that the branch design has been restricted to the heel of the shoe only (they could, after all, have made the front look like branches twisting around the foot, and then we'd have a whole different shoe on our hands. Or on our feet, rather.) making it a detail you'll only notice if you take more than a cursory glance at these, but it is a detail that makes you want to snap them up immediately, or is it a detail that makes you want to send them back to the forest?

If it's the former, these are £535 and available from Net-a-Porter.

Style on Trial: mini bowler hat by Chapeau Claudette

This winter really is shaping up to be the season of the hat. While we know hats are always around in some form another, this year there seems to be much greater choice available in the world of headgear, with styles ranging from the sublime to the completely and utterly ridiculous.

Which category does this mini bowler hat by Chapeau Claudette fall into, we wonder? On the plus side, it has that cuteness about it that all very small items seem to have (puppies, kittens, babies, etc, etc), but on the minus side we suspect that dinky cuteness may only apply to this when it's not actually being worn, at which point it just runs the risk of making the wearer look like they have a very big head indeed. Or like they're about to star in their very own cartoon.

Which side are you on with this? Cute or "cartoon"? 

Shoe Style on Trial: Skiathos cuff platform boots from Topshop

The Fashion Police love a nice platform sole. This, however... well, this isn't one, as far as we're concerned. It's too gold, too shiny and for some reason, every time we look at it, we think of horses hooves. Which is weird, because as we all know, horses don't wear platform boots, do they?

In other words, these Skiathos boots from Topshop get the thumbs down from us. It was a nice thought, Topshop, but we ain't buying it - especially not when it's £70/$145.

What do you think, readers? Do these boots make you want to clip clop all the way to your nearest Topshop, or you think they should just trot along to The Fashion Police cells? (No, we still don't really know what's with the "horse" references these inspire in us. Sorry. We'll stop now.)

Style on Trial: Alexander McQueen knit military dress

The Fashion Police love military style fashion, which is particularly great during the winter months on coats, boots and knit dresses.

We don't love it quite so much on this knit dress, by Alexander McQueen, however, because when we look at this dress - especially from a distance - we don't so much see "military style" as "scary skeleton, with its ribs on show".

Is that just us?

We can totally see where McQueen was going with this, of course, and we really want to like it, but somehow that skeleton association is proving hard to shake. What do you think? Do you love the very bones of this dress, or does it make you see bones when you look at it?

Celebrity Style on Trial: Thandie Newton in Jasmine Di Milo at the RocknRolla premiere

Thandie Newton is gorgeous. Seriously, isn't Thandie Newton gorgeous? Her white Jasmine Di Milo dress, though, as seen at the RocknRolla premiere earlier this week... well, that we're not so sure about. It's the way it joins together between the legs, that puts us off: It kind of reminds us of a giant, droopy diaper. (Not that we've actually seen anyone wear a diaper of this magnitude, you understand, but you know what we mean...) and we can tell just by looking that having that thing flapping between our ankles when we walked would get old pretty quick. Not, mind you, that this dress would have had the opportunity to flap between our ankles in the first place, because the whole look just seems to scream "Lookit my boobs and thighs! Sexy enough for ya?" and we're not really "down" with that.

Then again, we're not Jasmine Di Milo, either, and that fact is probably clouding our judgment somewhat.

What do you think of this dress, readers? Love it? Hate it? Totally indifferent to it? Tell us!

Star Style on Trial: Victoria Beckham in Giambattista Valli at the launch of her 'Signature' scent in Manchester

Despite the criticism she receives for her figure, her fake tans, her nails, her pout... just for being alive, basically... most of the time we have to admit to finding Victoria Beckham's dress sense pretty inoffensive. OK, she's had her moments, but sometimes her outfits are downright covetable. And then, other times, they're like a mullet. We're speaking literally here, because yes, that appears to be fur on Victoria's back, and given that a furry back is pretty much the last thing we'd want for ourselves, this dress has puzzled us - all the more so because it's so perfect from the front.

This is from Giambattista Valli's Autumn/Winter 08 collection, and we think Vic must have been going for the "angel sent to earth" look here - albeit an angel with a furry back. The combination of slim shift dress and swept-up hair is very Audrey Hepburn, the silver heels add a modern touch and... then there's the furry back. Which, to be completely honest, just makes us want to take a razor to it, although, to be fair, we think Vic is actually making it work.

What say you, readers? An angel sent to earth or your idea of fashion hell? Tell us in the comments...

Style on Trial: Marc by Marc Jacobs cotton twill bow dress

We feel like we should like this dress. Bows are, after all, our thing, and when you zoom in on the picture, the workmanship on this one is exactly what you'd expect from a $568 dress. But the more we look at it, the more we find ourselves wondering: did the bow really have to be so big, Marc Jacobs? And its positioning just under the chest - that's... interesting. Like, in the way a marsupial is interesting, you know? And actually, speaking of marsupials, we think that's more or less what we'd look like, were to to wear this: like we just gave birth to a bow, basically, and now we're carrying it around in our pouch. Again: interesting.

We're also really curious to see what this dress looks like from the side, too. We somehow doubt that many people really want to make that area between the breast bone and belly button look bigger than it is, but that seems to be what Marc Jacobs has done here. It's certainly dramatic, but it's the kind of drama we're thinking we could probably live without. What about you? Would you like to be the bearer of The Bow? If so, get this at Nordstrom.

Style on Trial: Pink sheepskin outerwear from Topshop

We've already talked about the faux fur which has already started to appear in stores ahead of the winter season, but it's starting to look like sheepskin is going to be another big look in outerwear. Topshop aren't the only label stocking Mongolian-style gilets and jackets at the moment, but so far they are the only one to be stocking pink sheepskin (as far as we know), and we're wondering what you all think of this?

The gilet shown above is currently available at Topshop.com for £85, while the jacket is £150, and for some reason when we look at them, we think of Paris Hilton, Eddie from Absolutely Fabulous, and Playboy bunnies. We think it's the sheer pinkness of the things, although we're not sure we'd like them any better if they were the colour of an actual sheep, come to think of it.

Would you, though? These pieces of pink outerwear stand accused of Crimes Against Fashion, jurors. Will you find them guilty or innocent?