Are 14 inch calves huge?

[MinesaBottle]

I'm 5'2" and my calves are 14 inches. I'm a size 10 and I walk a lot and swim, and I think I look in proportion! I'm trying to find some knee boots and everything I've tried on is too tight or won't zip up. (I'm a shoe size 6). Yet I do have a pair of knee boots from the 70s from my mum, who was about my size then, that fit fine! Do I have giant calves or is everything now made for women with legs about the size of a ten year old?

[WorraLiberty]

I don't know. I have the opposite problem. Every pair of boots I try on, makes me look like I'm standing in two tall plant pots and yet I don't have particularly skinny legs, and I don't remember it being a problem a couple of years ago

Perhaps we should both look for lace up boots, as they're a lot more versatile.

[RenaissanceBunny]

SimplyBe do boots with a variety of calve widths. It is the only place I can buy boots - nothing on the high street fits and I'm a size 8.

[Intomyarms]

I think 14 inches is definitely on the bigger side for calves. I am the same height as you and my calves are 15 inches. Mine are definitely huge and I have great difficulty buying zip up boots. I only buy online (to save myself the embarrassment) and have to buy extra wide zip up knee boots.

On the positive side if we research enough, there are some brands that will fit us albeit not many.

[MinesaBottle]

God, really? I see loads of women with bigger legs than mine, I have no idea where they would get boots should they want them. I'll check out online stuff, I love an ankle boot but it'd be nice to have another pair of knee high boots. My mum's old ones are brown so don't go with everything. I'm just a bit frustrated as I'm hardly obese and it's all muscle but regardless, is it only women with stick like calves who can wear knee high boots?

[RJnomore1]

Mines are around 18 inch but I weightlift and have a genetic predisposition to pack calf muscle on.

So 15 seems slim to me.

[Intomyarms]

The women with stick like calves are limited to boots that are narrow, otherwise they look like they are wearing wellies (so a friend tells me).

So those with narrow or big calves equally find it difficult if its any consolation.

I could lose a stone in weight to be my ideal weight but even when I was 8.5 stones, my calves were a problem.

It might be because I am short and my legs are 'condensed'. I take 30 inches in my jeans length and while practical, skinny jeans certainly aren't flattering. When I look at photographs of taller women, their legs are 'shapely' and all the 'heaviness' is stretched out. Mine look like great big sldes of ham : (

[oldlaundbooth]

Dunno really... I think I'll have to measure mine actually.

[Be3Al2Si6O18]

Q: Well I am 6ft 2ins, my calves are 48 inches and my Wellington boots fit me very well. Who am I?

[hiddley]

I'm 5 3 and just measured and my calves are 11 inches. I look like a rat looking out of a jug in most boots (recently bought a slender calf pair and they are still flapping around me). I wouldn't say 14 inches would be huge? I've really slender ankles though and I think that doesn't help with the boot situation. Are your legs more of a steady size?

[missnevermind]

Be. Their is no way Paddington Bear is that tall

[hiddley]

Is it the upper or lower calf that you're struggling with?

[Be3Al2Si6O18]

A: I'm a farmer!

[donkir]

Try duo boots. A wide range of width fittings. Expensive though.

[MinesaBottle]

Upper calf. My legs look in proportion but it's as if there's a really small sweet spot between my size and say 11 inches or so (based on this thread) and if you don't fit in that then you either get the squeezed calves or the twig in a pipe look. Surely as shoe sizes go up boots should be bigger? It's unlikely a size 2, say, would have calves my size either. This is all part of a general problem with sizing i think. Don't get me started on so-called 'petite' trousers!

[MinesaBottle]

donkir I got a pair from Duo a few years ago, the heel broke after two months. I'm not convinced of the quality, given the price!

[WillWorkForShoes]

I have lovely calves! Oddly enough I often get compliments on them (I wonder how bad the rest of me must be for this to be the area people focus on!). I have just measured them and they are 15 inches. I don't have cankles and am a shoe size 7. I have about 5 pairs of knee high boots and have never had issues getting pairs to fit. However, I haven't bought any in the past 5 years or so. I suspect it may be modern designs!

[IHaveBrilloHair]

Legs the size of a 10 year old, stick legs, yet you notice women with bigger legs than you.
Crikey, you sound judgey.
Read back and realise we all come in different shapes and sizes and there'll be something to fit that'll make you look great.

[MinesaBottle]

I completely get that we come in different sizes, thanks. Unfortunately boots don't seem to. I'm not that fussed about other peoples legs to the point of obsession...but I do wonder how only a tiny subset seem to be able to fit into them. What I'd like to know is where I can find boots that are likely to fit me that are also reasonably fashionable. Of course I notice people's legs. I'm pretty fucking self conscious about my own at the moment.

[hiddley]

I always notice people with knee high boots, and given my measurements, I would say they have bigger calves than you. They always look snug on people with bigger legs. I find it hard to believe you can't find boots to fit your leg size.

[Only1scoop]

I struggle in the calf

I like Gabor leather Boots

[MinesaBottle]

Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places (high street shops). If anyone has any recommendations (and there are already a few I'm going to check out) thank you!

[Intomyarms]

Willworkforshoes What height are you?

My theory is that shorter women's legs are condensed into sturdy trunk like blocks and are simply thick. A taller woman's calves are elongated and look more in proportion. E.g. Kate Middleton. I have absolutely no idea of her approx calf width but she definitely has muscle in her legs. However her lower legs are narrow and because of her height, her calves are 'stretched' -
note the distance from her ankle to where her calf begins i.pinimg.com/736x/f2/cc/fa/f2ccfaa471f392a9996fe9c5baa722ed--princess-charlotte-princess-kate.jpg

[MinesaBottle]

Maybe it is a height thing, plus my inside leg is only 27 inches. I wonder if anyone makes petite boots?!

[BreconBeBuggered]

Waiting for ideas here. I have small feet, which doesn't help, as the calves on boots seem to size up in proportion, and while I'm a good deal chunkier than I used to be, my limbs are still relatively slim compared with the rest of me.

[rightknockered]

I am around 5FT 6, ok 5FT 5.5, I take a shoe size 5 and my calves are 14 inches. I can get boots to fit but they are a snug fit. I've never thought of my calves as being big, in fact I've been told my legs are too skinny before. My inseam is 32 inches. I think they look in proportion.
I tried on a lot of pairs of skinny jeans recently, and had trouble with pulling a couple of pairs over my calves. I was very surprised.