Being petite, I have a long history of learning to settle for something that is less than perfect. If I didn't, I would have nothing to wear!
It's better nowadays, but I remember a time when there was no such thing as petites and in college I had to shop in the children's department. But even now that BR, ATL, AT and a few other brands offer petites, I still get frustrated.... I am at a time in life where I would like to invest in designer-level clothes, but many of these brands simply don't fit me. If fit is off, it's not going to be a 10, period.
As for the CRS, I'm not comfortable with it because I am the type of person who when asked to rate things on a scale, always tends to go for one extreme or the other. I'm a survey skewer.
I do try to point out when my opinion may be influenced by my own personal taste. For example, I don't like sweatshirt grey, and I was careful to add that I *personally* don't like that color in general, because it reminds me of sweat pants.... and does nothing for my own complexion. But I *do* like Nicole's dress and Tanya's dress anyway!! (Tanya, I have the green one on order And I'm a ruffle fan.... and a print fan.... and I sometimes like horizontal stripes - they are preppy!
I do want to add that if you are on a tight budget, and you already have tons of nice clothes in your closet, then there's really nothing wrong with holding out for perfection.
However if you are starting out completely from scratch and need everything, and/or not on a tight budget, then who cares if you experiment with some less-than-10 items. We have to wear something. Plus, you can take a 5 shirt and layer a fab jacket over it and suddenly you have a 10...
And experimenting does let you get an idea what your own personal likes/dislikes are. You learn what makes you feel wonderful and feels "YOU" to you.
For example I have an H&M top that's very definetly a 3 or 4... the fit is completely wrong for me. But I was drawn to it anyway. It works much better with a cardi or jacket over it. But that experiment told me there's a part of me that loves patterns, and blousy-blouses. Now you'll see me in patterned blouses quite a bit.... but if you knew me 2 years ago, you'd never have seen me in patterns. Never!
And then there's the copy factor.... because of this group, I've tried things I would never have tried before. For example putting a cami in a pop of color under a shirt, or going for a cream jacket. Some experiments have worked and others have not. But that's what this group is great for - getting ideas from each other.
Finally, I do have items in my closet that aren't necessarily the most flattering style for me, but I wanted them anyway because sometimes I simply need a change-up!
