To want to start complimenting women more? (Strangers)

A random compliment (I rarely do this but sometimes do) if it's heartfelt (usually on clothing as it's my thing) can make someone's day and it makes my day if I receive it! Once getting off a train, at London Bridge, many years ago (early 00s?) I received a compliment on my fave MAC lipstick which was Rebel Rose (LE), a random woman told me 'you really suit that colour lipstick' as I was getting off the train. I'm not sure if she saw me applying it on the train as I did do that, to touch it up after I'd bought a takeout coffee.

I actually love and find I get way more compliments in cities/towns in USA (in the street) when I visit friends there, and in France, SW area where DP's have a holiday home. Not cat calling but just compliments or definitely complimentary looks.

I see the odd good looking man sometimes and give them a look (not leering!) but wouldn't compliment them on their clothes, too weird.

I entertained my toddler on a 9 hour flight. Didn't nap, refused screens. At the end of the flight a woman came over to say how brilliantly I had handled it and I still feel so good (smug perhaps!) About that nearly a decade later.

Definitely do next time! We had our two year old on a plane in the summer and were stuck on the ground for an hour as there was a problem with the connecting bridge. I apologised to the couple in front of us as two year old was getting antsy but at the end of the flight they turned round and complimented us on how well we interacted with him to keep him calm and said it was really nice to hear a pair of attentive parents.

It felt really good because from our perspective toddler was being a pain in the bum 😂

I saw a woman on the train with her daughter, she was such an awesome mum, her manner was so lovely and they were playing loads of games like hangman on a piece of paper - it was almost like I'd taken a Time Machine to the 1990s. I really wanted to tell her how great she was but i chickened out. Agree it should be more normalised!!!

I do it, in the supermarket at the self checkout recently I looked up at the woman next to me and blurted out "oh my god you look gorgeous - that dress is amazing" before I'd even considered it, it just came out before I'd even put my brain in gear. Fortunately she beamed and then turned to her husband who also nodded and smiled and said "I told you so!" Her reaction was pure joy, I felt good all day, and I hope she did too. I think it's a great idea to use that as a NY resolution as then you are actively looking for positivity. Great thread OP

I do this op. I don't run up to people and compliment them on anything but if I'm standing next to them or we smile and say hello as we pass each other I will say how lovely their trousers or top etc is.

I don’t ever receive compliments from randoms though. This is because I don’t look great 😂

I do it but wouldn’t do it to a person who was literally just walking past, it’ll be someone I’m already having an interaction with, like a shop assistant or a stranger I’m passing the time of day with at a bus stop. It’s always been well-received.

I work on a till & am always complimenting women on their hair colour, jewellery etc. Certainly can’t remember ever having a negative response. I compliment men as well, not so much though & usually on their hat. Lately I’ve been wearing a sequinned Pudsey t shirt & so many people have said how much they like it. Feels good!

This is fair. It's only ever woman to woman in terms of receiving/giving compliments for me. Oh except for one occasion where a drag queen complimented my vintage dress 😅

I think it's great, given that you're a woman.

A man complimenting a woman is on much shakier ground. I can imagine that it could sometimes be done successfully, but there's a good chance it could go wrong and come across as harassing, no matter how it is intended. So if you were male, I'd advise against complimenting strange women.

I have curly hair which gets compliments from strangers from time to time. Always makes me feel good. I also hand out compliments quite a lot as I'm autistic and often just blurt out what I'm thinking. It's nice to see people smile when you tell them you love their nail art or tattoos :)

I do this all the time, it has always made me feel good on the receiving end and it always goes down well! I don't compliment men or it'll go the wrong way 😂
I feel we need to help each other repair the damage from men

I'm a guy and I've done it with men and women. I wouldn't necessarily chase someone down to compliment them but if I find myself in someone's vicinity and something draws my attention, I'll highlight it.

I wouldn't compliment someone's general looks or body because it can easily be inappropriate but if someone's made a clear style choice that I think is really great, I've definitely been known to say something. No one's ever been offended and most will tell me where they got it or why they picked it. If someone's rocking a smell I like, I'm definitely asking what it is - man or woman.

Someone ran up behind me and my DP in the supermarket last month to tell us we both looked really cool and ran off again. It was really random but it put a spring in my step.

'Your dress is nice' that was meant to say

I'm pretty relaxed about talking to strangers but ... to do this as a deliberate habit would unnerve me. It's basically a kind of positive confrontation and to try to seek those opportunities would do my head in. Keep it factual, I suppose. "I like...". If I knew it was your habitual policy to find reasons to do this, I would immediately discount the weight of the comment, of course, would assume it's not sincere.

Yes this, I am happy to talk to people because they genuinely want to chat but I random 'your dress is not' is odd

A 'omg I love that handbag where did you get it please' fine

Working in retail I have to chat to loads of people and I'm forever complimenting them on things: nails, hair, coat, handbag, dog...

It's just a nice thing to do and I've never known it not raise a smile.

That reminds me I did once tell another mum at toddler group that I liked her outfit and said something like “you always look so well put together”. She said “thank you but don’t ask me where anything is from, this is my style and I don’t want any Tom Dick or Harry trying to copy me” 🤣

I had another school mum who I’d never spoken to before compliment my dress a few months ago. It absolutely made my day.

Recently a woman walked past me in tk maxx and she smelt amazing. She walked past me again a bit later so I plucked up the courage to ask her what her perfume was. She didn’t seem to think I was too much of a weirdo

I was going to say you'd probably look a little odd and make people feel uncomfortable. Then I remembered a woman complimented my dress in the supermarket this summer and it was a really nice feeling.

I love complimenting people on their style. Life is very grey, and we all need compliments sometimes. It's about sisterhood.

I'm quite neurotic and not particularly stylish. Combined this means I fear a compliment of "ooh I love your shoes" would be taken badly. The woman would walk round the corner, immediately bin her shoes just so she wasn't tainted by my unstylishness.

Last time I did this was on a beach when an older woman like me put on this amazing sheer trouser thing and floated up the beach. She was absolutely blown away thanking me, it was lovely

I have got compliments on my grey hair colour with a couple of people asking if it's natural! Yes it is. That made my day

That made me feel a bit sad to read! I had a stranger compliment an outfit I had on the first time a month or so ago and like OP it really boosted me. That stranger didn't know I've been feeling a bit lost fashion-wise since becoming a mum, so her kind words really meant a lot to me.