This Antanosy proverb compares a woman who attracts attention in an unfavorable way to an old rag. Here, the rag symbolizes something deplorable, of poor quality, or even poverty-stricken, yet paradoxically garners attention or is noticed. The equivalent English proverb could be “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This implies that appearances can be misleading and do not necessarily reflect the true value or importance of someone or something.