Never say never. I remember at the start of the 1970's seeing flared and bell-bottomed pants and saying "I'll never be caught dead in those" and then we wore nothing else for most of the decade. So the eye does adjust, given enough time.
I was also one who would resist buying something too trendy because by the time it became available at my price range, I was afraid it would be on the way out, and I didn't want stuff to look dated as i expect my clothing to work for me for a long time. This is less of an issue now, as fast-fashion retailers bring new trends at low prices early on. The trick is, spotting the keepers.
Mostly, though, I will only try on a trend if it already appeals to me as fitting into my general style. (And i for one am thankful that some take on nautical is around every summer.)
I think there is a difference too between trying on trends to see if they look good on me (as with others here, No Never to crop tops) versus trying on new silhouettes to see what works, flatters, or could be gotten used to (like skinny or cropped pants), which is the fun kind of research.
I must tell a story on myself, though. Last winter DD and I were prowling the mall and I kept pointing out the floral printed jeans and saying how ridiculous they looked. Then I started noticing some BLUE printed floral jeans and they looked entirely different to my eye--like blue jeans that just happened to have a floral print. And then we wandered into the Gap and they had a pair, that fit me, marked down to $12, and I went home with them. All on the same day, and with much mockery from DD (who takes several years to warm up to any new trends).
Side note, I wore those same jeans yesterday to the same store with a different daughter, and the SA complimented me on how i had styled them!
