What do you wear in summer if you have ugly legs?

[costumething]

I always have trouble with summer clothes. I am fairly slim and have the 'desirable' gap between my thighs when standing but it all goes wrong below the knee.

My calves are MASSIVE!
Probably wider than my thighs. They have always been this way, even when I was less than 8 stone. I have chunky ankles too. Not only that but I now have very noticeable thread veins all over my legs.
I only feel confident in skirts if they cover me to the floor. I used to wear wide linen trousers, but I think they look frumpy these days. I love cigarette pants on others, but usually they won't even go past my ankles and if they do they look terrible. I have trouble with boots, even Hunter wellies won't fit - can't get them on, so the knee- high boots with shorts look is tricky, although it would probably work looks wise.

Am I doomed to jeans forever?

Maxi dresses seems the obvious answer? are they so big from sport or something?

Not really although they are quite muscly. I have very big bones from the knee down for some strange reason - my ankle bones are twice there size of my husband's!

I do wear maxi dresses, but people on here seem to think they're frumpy. Does it help if you're otherwise slim? I'm 5 ft 6 & about 9 stone.

Palazzo pants and heream trousers (sorry about the spelling) are Brilliant

Don't listen to people on here. if a blogger starts wearing one they'll all rush out to buy don't you worry just don't team up with new balance trainers or skate shoes k?

Maxi dresses aren't frumpy! I think that you just have to find the right cut and prints for your shape and accessorise them properly - chunky necklaces, strappy sandals etc.

DO NOT WEAR TRAINERS WITH A MAXI DRESS!!!!!!!EVER.wow,you really would look frumpy!

Maxi dresses are not frumpy,it's just some people on here think if you haven't spent ages putting together an entire outfit thinking what goes with what then you can not look nice/stylish.

I always thought style was meant to be effortless...

Also,wide leg linens can look fab,not frumpy.Just wear them wide and slung low on the hips.They can look great like that with a simple top.

Oops,sorry,though a pp was suggesting trainers not warning against.

Can you tell how much time I've spent thinking 'wtf?' on these boards?

Maxis need to be worn with heels/wedges btw,or uber nice flats at a push.

Me too, me too!

I have no answer.

Im too short for maxi dresses, plus they dont suit my personality? I tend to wear trousers with vests or short shift dresses - nothing flared. My calves annoy me.

If you want boots that fit your calves then try duo boots www.duoboots.com, they do different calf sizes. You measure your calf at the widest point and order accordingly.

I only wear maxi dresses or long skirts in summer. Not all linen trousers are wide legged if you don't like that style. I have a pair that are only slightly wider at the bottom and I get compliments all the time. My definite no no is 3/4 length trousers. Imo you have to have shapely calves and slim ankles to wear them. Hence I have none

I have big calves and ankles. Even when at my slimmest my calves can be as wide as my thighs.

However I find that the shorter the skirt - the better my legs look. If I want to wear a summer skirt- then it has to be a good few inches above the knee. It helps to knd of balance things out.

I will NEVER wear cropped trousers - as those just highlight my problem area. Ditto below the knee skirts.

so for me - it's either full length jeans or maxi skirt - or above the knee. With flat shoes - sandals, supergas etc.

Do you like flares OP? It sounds like you would suit something fitted to the knee then with a nice big flare. I had some like that in a lightweight cotton flowery material - they were fab. You could rock a 70s vibe with a big straw hat and platform sandals. T'would be lovely. Specially with your thigh gap!

I love a long skirt. A long, floaty skirt with a pretty vest top = summer perfection, to me. And I like my legs.

Maxis need to be worn with heels/wedges btw,or uber nice flats at a push

If you wear flats for everyday wear the rest of the year why would you want to start wearing heels in the summer? Maxis look great with flip flops, Birkenstocks, sandals etc. as well as Superga/Converse. It depends on your personal style I suppose, and how 'dressed up' you need to be.

Maxi dresses, maxi skirt with a vest or fitted tee, linen trousers, boden trousers (thicker, but not denim... chinos maybe?)

I dont like my legs, either. Theyre skinny and pasty and blotchy. I wear maxi dresses with pretty sandals, or dresses that fall just below the knee with wedge sandals.

Maxi dresses are for everyone in my opinion, whatever the naysayers think! You just need to find the right style for you.
The latter style could work well on you if youre chunkier of calf, too.

I wish I could love summery trousers, but I just cannot find any that I feel comfortable in. Hate wide legged trousers, yet cigratte pants just look ridiculous on me.

Feel your pain.

I love maxi dresses...you dont even have to shave!! I cant wear heels Im 5"8 and look silly so I just wear pretty sandals (Primark actually have some really nice ones atm)

H&M always have maxi dresses..plain/ patterned etc.

OP, I understand, as I too dressed to hide my legs for most of my life (I have bad scarring from skin grafts/burns on my lower legs).

In recent years, I've decided I don't actually care any more and have started to wear knee-length skirts with bare legs. I try to wear fairly plain skirts and more striking tops, so people don't notice my legs as much. Once I got over my initial shyness about it, it was fine.

Most people don't even notice my scars and the ones that have were much more embarrassed than me when I told them what the strange marks were and how I got them!

The thigh gap is not 'desirable'. It is, for most people, a sign of being underweight. In the future, I hope we will look back on it as a dangerous, but short-lived fashion.

Listen to how you describe yourself, OP. I think you need to work on your self esteem, tbh

The thigh gap is not 'desirable'. It is, for most women, a sign of being underweight. A dangerous fashion.

Read how you describe yourself, OP. I think you need to work on your self-esteem, not your wardrobe

Below the knee cotton dresses with mid calf leggings. I don't care if it's unfashionable, no-one gets to see the Elephant Knees of Bagginess.

The thigh gap is not 'desirable'. It is, for most women, a sign of being underweight. A dangerous fashion.

I had to Google what a thigh gap was . Some of the images of models there are just horrific!

I got really into long skirts last summer (and I like my legs). they're perfect for that between wax stage!

Otherwise could boyfriend jeans work OP? Most are a bit longer than the 3/4 cropped.

I can't do maxi dresses as I need to wear a bra and the vast majority are strappy or halter. Feel they drown me a bit but am shorter than you at 5ft 3

Stokey I just wear vest maxis (preferably racer back), with another vest underneath to cover the bra straps.

I can't disagree more with the notion of heels and a maxi dress. I think they are made for with flat/wedge sandals or are perfect with converse (et al.)

I have similar issues. When I was thinner,my solution was to wear short shorts. It seemed to balance things out better. I've heard it said that your skirts / hemline should end at the narrowest part of your legs. For me, this would be about 4 inches above my knee.

It sounds like you could get away with shorts.