Follow up to an unexpected reaction

Yesterday , was the first time I wore the newly purchased Kitschen dress out . 

Into a sewing wholesale shop I trooped , and as I was standing alone , in one of the quiet aisles , I got a reaction that made me go get this Pink Nude scarf from Cotton On .

This is the dress in contention . The one which I mentioned could be considered as quite daring for a person of my age , but which I personally think is decent by my standards .

Modelled by the lanky girl below , who btw , is extremely tall , but when shorty me puts it on , the hemline also goes above the knees in this manner .....

I've managed to fill out all the spaces compared to her .

Received a " you look very beautiful " compliment from my loved one , was tailed by 1 guy in a bank while another trained his eyes on me .

Still not a problem .

These are normal reactions which I experience nowadays . I'm ok with it , so long as they don't start pointing a phone in my direction .

The main issue was , when I was standing in the aisle , looking at how I was going to enhance the cuff on my old long sleeved little black dress , 

my side profile visible to whomever was about to turn the corner , there 

I was , in the middle of the long aisle , slightly bent forward , inspecting the price listed , when this middle aged guy , I'd put him at around 48 years old , maybe more .....he turns in , about 10 paces from where I'm standing . And then he stops , startled , when he spots me .... softly uttering the following phrase which was still loud enough for me and anyone in the adjoining aisles to hear ;

he said 

" Allahu Akbar "

Growing up in Malaysia , we're used to hearing our Muslim friends utter all sorts , 

Mashallah , Astafirullahaladzim , Inshallah  , and the dramatic Yaallahyarabiyatuhanku , 

when they're among us ,

yet I still was not prepared for that as most will either keep quiet or slow down their pace rather than say that out loud . There are certain phrases which they do not use so freely when we are among them and that was one of it . So yes , it caught me offguard .

Not knowing how to react , my eyebrows shot up , eyes widened , but I kept my face in the same position and took care not to make any eye contact with him .

What ? Was my dress too much ?  Why did he say that ?

He on the other hand glided past me and I do not know where he headed after that , but if you want to know what was next to me , stacked against the wall , it was a variety of white styrofoam which the Muslim community use for " hantaran " purposes at weddings or engagements .

I really did not know what to make of it at that moment , so I did the next best thing at the time . 

Got myself a scarf from Cotton On and walked around with the scarf dangling down after that .

Later on , only did I realise that I should have taken it as a compliment . Apparently , it is only uttered when they see a beautiful woman or a handsome man .

Clearly a misunderstanding on my part , but at least now I know what it means when used as a form of expression .

Location : Penang