How Can I Overcome This Irrational Fear?

It never used to bother me, but I have been becoming increasingly wary of going out on my own, and it is beginning to develop into a serious problem affecting my ability to do 'ordinary' things. I'm very self-conscious, so wherever I go, I feel as though everyone is looking at me. Paradoxically, I dress in a very unique style, which makes people notice me: sometimes people will smirk at what I am wearing, which really cripples my confidence. I hate it when people, who you don't know, make comments to you in the street. Unless you are British, you probably won't be aware of this term, but I am really afraid of 'Chavs'. I know that it is terribly judgmental to be afraid of certain people just because they dress in a certain way, but I have had a few bad experiences with these so-called 'Chavs' and it has made me nervous in their presence. I find it hard to go out on my own to do the most trivial of things. I find it hard to talk to shopkeepers; I would rather they just ignored me. Whenever I do go out, something bad seems to happen and I feel like locking myself in my bedroom and never leaving again. I do have a social life, but I can only visit my friends in the daytime unless they are willing to walk me home, because I am frightened to walk home alone in case someone confronts me. I'm more frightened of words than violence. Basically, I have a fear of strangers making rude comments to me and this stops me doing what I want to do. How can I stop letting this bother me and overcome this silly problem? Thanks. x