Do you want attention from how you dress?

Believe it or not this is the first outfit that drew comment from a complete stranger. I didn't even think it was that great. I wanted to wear my black boots and the fuscia tee. So I grabbed the first pants with legs that would fit into my boots. Not thrilled with these pants, especially tucked into the boots. I threw on the shirt because it was cold. Not exactly inspired dressing.

So there I was at Kroger searching my coupon binder for $1.00 off Meow Mix, and it happened. An older, only slightly creepy guy struck up a conversation about his cats. Then he said, "Ma'am, don't take this the wrong way, but that outfit looks really nice on you." I said a quick "Thank you" and ran for the dairy aisle. It wasn't like someone cat-called me on the street or anything, but it still freaked me out a little. What if this is a trend and other people notice me more? Is that a good or bad thing? I mean, I decided to improve how I dress for my own enjoyment and self-confidence--not because I want people to notice my clothing. In fact, people probably noticed more when I wore wrinkled clothing and just threw something on every day.

And I still keep marveling at the fact that this was the outfit that got noticed.

So my question is do I really want to dress better if it's going to draw attention? The small town I live in is very, very casual. I mean, when I wear my office clothes to Wal-mart, I usually feel way over-dressed. It's a very blue collar, jeans and a t-shirt kind of a place.  If I wear anything more put together, I'm afraid someone will think I'm uppity or something. It's funny because if I go to a more fashion conscious place, I feel like a bumpkin. So I guess fashion is somewhat relative depending on your location. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that I don't feel pressure here to be fashionable and the relaxed standards are great especially in our hot, humid summers. But when I do want to step it up a notch and show some style, I'm afraid I'll stick out like a sore thumb. And my husband complains that I over-think things!

What about you? Do you feel comfortable getting positive attention for your appearance? Does the place you live affect your choice of clothing?