The other day when I was at Legoland, a woman approached me and said, “Excuse me. I just wanted to say that I love your whole outfit.” She smiled at me and then started asking specific, fun questions about my outfit — Where did you get your belt? I love your shoes. Those pants are so cute…. etc. Then her mom joined us and she said how much she also like my whole outfit and more delightful outfit questions were fired at me.
I almost burst into tears. Maybe it was the fact that I was on hour seven at Legoland. Or maybe it was the fact that I’d only eaten an ice cream sandwich all day and had ridden on several roller coasters that had made me regret my poor food choice. Or maybe it was the fact that they used the word “whole”. I like your whole outfit.
I’ve never gotten that before.
I suddenly felt like a make-a-wish recipient whose final request was to have some stranger stop me on the street and say they approved of every single fashion choice I made. I pictured the person hired as the “stranger” in my make-a-wish fantasy. ”So, all I have to do is walk up to her and say, “I like your outfit.” Then I pictured the person who has organized my wish to shake her head emphatically and say, “No. You have to say you like her whole outfit. She needs to know that she can put an outfit together before she dies.”
I tried to talk to my “whole outfit complimenters” as long as possible, giving them way too much detail about every thing I was wearing until they had to politely excuse themselves. I then spent the rest of the day strutting down main street of Legoland like I was an Alexander McQueen model at fashion week.
Do I think my outfit is all that great? Not really. My whole clothing goal that day was to avoid getting sunburned at Legoland — hence, the hat, long sleeved shirt and pants. But maybe that made me look dressier than most people do at Legoland and therefore, somewhat of a standout – some people have just given up altogether and are wearing bathing suits.
But I’m going to take the compliment anyway regardless of how I feel about the true fabulousness of my outfit. And the next time I see someone who looks totally amazing, I’m going to walk up to them and say, “I love your whole outfit.”
Because if they’re anything like me, that one little word makes all the difference.
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