Paying compliments is there a difference between?

[thethreegreens]

do you think there is a difference between
“ your dress looks nice “ and “ you look nice, “

No.
What do you think, OP?

I don't know whether the giver of the compliment necessarily means there to be a difference. But me being me would interpret the first as the dress is nice but I don't much care for how the rest of you looks. Whereas the "you look nice" is just me that: your overall presentation is really good

‘Your dress looks nice’ suggests that the dress you’re wearing is particularly nice. The person is commenting just about what you are wearing.

‘You look nice’ suggests that you’ve done your hair and make- up nicely or your complete outfit is nice. You could be wearing ‘jeans and a nice top’, but have groomed yourself well.

Yes I think there is a difference, for context partner always says “your dress looks nice “ rather than you look nice, then the other day someone said “ you look nice “ and it got me thinking that partner doesn’t pay me a complement it’s more he feels he has to say something because I’m wearing something different, when I was pregnant with our first he asked me if my body would go back to normal how it was before, which has always stuck because I am overweight now and never was before !

when I was pregnant with our first he asked me if my body would go back to normal how it was before,
@thethreegreens please ignore him. What an awful thing to say to you whilst you were carrying his child.
You deserve better, you beautiful human. 💐

Have you pointed out the difference to him and what did he say?

He sounds immature but whether that's an age or personality thing, you are better placed to know that.

There is a difference. I usually make an effort to comment on what the person has done - put an outfit together, changed their hairstyle, etc - rather than what they are - being beautiful, tall, slim, etc.

Your husband sounds like a knob, though. Make sure you get plenty of validation elsewhere, and from yourself!

... btw: "Did you mean to say I look good in this dress, DH?"

Whenever anyone compliments my clothing, I genuinely just take pride that they recognise I have great taste, which of course is a much better compliment than ‘you look nice’. One is permanent and the other is ‘ just for that day.’

Although, your H doesn’t sound overly nice to be asking if your body would return back to how it was pre-baby. Saying this though, some men just don’t like the pregnant body, a friends H really didn’t, it made her feel like sh*t for 9 months.

Yes I think there's a clear difference between "your dress looks nice" and "you look nice". The former is a straight forward statement but the latter can be more nuanced and intimate. And your DH sounds like a prick OP.

With us, DH is a sweet sweet man and pays me compliments all the time. He will say 'you look beautiful' or something like that frequently, but I know it's love talking as, although I can look quite nice I am now a fat 65 year old and I am not, by any means, beautiful. So if he says something like 'that's a nice dress' or 'your hair looks nice today' I know he is really looking at me and appreciating what I look like. So, for me, a comment on what I'm wearing actually means more.