Full confession: I have my father’s legs. Seriously. Growing up, my family sometimes joked that my legs were “tree trunks”.The only thing that gave my legs some credit is that I also inherited my mom’s longish-legs (well, long for someone who only stands at 5’4” tall). My body is compact, athletic and strong. Ready-to-wear clothing designed for slim, tall frames is a total disaster on me. My tree trunks (aka legs) are naturally muscular in build (read: not tiny). Strong thighs, hamstrings and calves are perfect for playing soccer and running, but not so great for skinny jeans, miniskirts and boots. Walk into any shoe store and there’s a 30% chance that my legs will fit into off-the-rack boots. That's pretty low. And frustrating. The other 70% of the time, I hit a point on my calf where the zipper will simply zip no more. I once splurged and bought a pair of Frye boots, the pull-on kind. To wear them, I’d need about 30 minutes to do an awkward dance to get my feet and legs in. Given the antics required to get into the boots, I could never wear them anywhere that might require me to take them off.


