the "strange" compliment you remember best

My mother showing a forty year old me a photo of an eighteen year old me and saying how pretty I was when I was thin.

I retrained in my forties and at the end of the course I was worried about age discrimination in the workplace. I said to one of my (twenty-something) fellow students "I don't know how I'm going to get a job at my age. I think I'll take my date of birth off my cv." She said "you could lie about your age, Varian, you could take off ten years". I was so flattered because she knew how old I was. I said "ten years? really? is it my new hairstyle?" to which she replied "No, I don't mean you look younger. You don't look youger, but you've got an honest face and people you think you wouldn't lie!"

At a club one night I was told by a very drunk man that I was lovely and was the model of Shirley Williams, I wasn't too pleased by that. However the following week he was there and and he said that seeing me when the place was lit up he was disappointed because I didn't look like her at all.

this thread is great!

I was about 18 and in my first job in the civil service. The commissionaire on the door was a friend of my uncle and sort of knew me. He said to me that I had grown up and was very nice looking, it was just a pity that I hadn't had my teeth straightened.

I was at my parents house. I must have been in my late 30's when, completely out of nowhere, my mother told me I was looking very matronly! I didn't know what to say, was it a compliment?
On another visit, my mother said she knew it was me by my footsteps, she said " I've just said to your Dad, here comes your mother, you walk just like your Granny."

Having just won a battle of wits with one of my 4year old charges when she threatened to drag me outside by my hair (non existent due to chemo) I told her to grab a handful, she looked me up and down, hands on hips, and said 'that's why I love you cos your so silly'

A lovely but plainspeaking older gentleman said 'you're not bad for a blo*dy woman'

When I was a lot younger I was told I "wasn't bad looking for a big girl" and more recently from a different person "you don't look too bad for your age but then fat people don't wrinkle do they"

I have always thought that was true kitlong. My mantra is "the fat irons out the wrinkles". A good excuse for not even attempting to loose weight. Who would want to be old , skinny and wrinkly?

My aunt used to say that I looked quite pleasant until one day someone said I looked like her. She replied” It’s amazing how she’s blossomed!”

My friend came round to tell me she’d seen a coat in the local shop. “it’s just you” she said “very plain!”

An old family friend once said "I never saw you as the motherly type, but you don't seem to have done worse than anyone else"!

My second DS was no oil painting when he was born, podgy face, squinty eyes and covered in white pimples. When his dad and 2 year old big brother came to pick us up the nurse said, 'Oh your little toddler is gorgeous isn't he!' She then looked at my new baby and said, 'This one is more like you isn't he?' Hmm good job I wasn't suffering from post natal depression then !!

One very drunk celebration in Ireland I was called an effing lovely bitch. I was chuffed because I was standing with my tall blond sister in law who normally gets the attention and, although sounds a harsh comment, the way it was said was great!