I've had thick thighs since my teen years (yes, that's me in the pic above!), and if there's anything I've learned, it's that the world is not designed around legs like mine. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having big legs (frankly, I like my own nowadays), but there are some things that they can make inconvenient. These are the struggles everyone with big thighs can relate to.
1. Your dresses become shirts.
Sure, on the model in the ad, it's a dress. On you, it suddenly becomes a tunic necessitating leggings underneath. Dear designers: Can't you make 'em just a little longer for us with naturally, ahem, ample upper legs?
2. "Chub rub."
You may hate the name of this particular issue, but if you have thick thighs, you know it well.
3. Shopping for jeans is impossible.
Speaking of pants, trying to find a pair that fits your thighs is so hard! They're all way too big in the waist or way too small in the legs.
4. All your jeans wear out first in between your legs.
Oh, and when you do find the perfect pair of jeans, your jeans all develop holes along the inner seams first due to the previous struggle.
5. Regular shorts being turned into short-shorts.
Who wears short-shorts? You do! But only because regular ones are transformed into tinier versions of themselves by your legs. Thanks, fashion industry.
6. Accidentally putting on your boyfriend's pants…
…And not being able to get them past your knees.
7. The confused look on a friend's face when they see you putting deodorant between your thighs.
Don't bother explaining it — they'll never understand.
8. Constantly pulling up your pants.
It doesn't matter what brand they're from, what size they are, or if you wear a belt with them — if they're not high-waisted, your jeans are in a perpetual state of sliding down.
9. Bikini shopping involves lots of mix-and-match.
A medium might fit perfectly on your top half, but trying to squeeze your legs into the same size on the bottom is just a pipe dream.
10. Occasionally wishing you had thigh gap simply because you hate #2 so much.
Sure, you love your figure, but sometimes that lack of friction sounds so appealing in the summer…
11. Vintage dresses never fit.
You'd love to be able to try on a 1950s frock every once in a while, but even if they fit your top half and your stomach, they cling like a bandage dress to your hips and thighs.
12. You check the temperature outside before deciding to wear a skirt.
Sure, you may love that new polka dot number in your closet, but if it's 85 degrees out and 80% humidity, you know you will regret it. And pencil skirts? That's just plain begging to get an inner thigh rash.
13. Giving up completely on Spanx.
No, I do not want to turn my legs into sausage casings, thanks anyway.
14. Attempting to sit down at a restaurant table is a feat of agility.
If you have to squeeze between two tables to sit at the booth, you know you're going to knock over somebody's water. And whenever you walk down a narrow aisle at a concert or on an airplane, you practically hip-check each person on the way down.
15. Trying on dresses requires a specific order.
You need to pull them over your head, then pull them down. Otherwise, every dress inevitably gets trapped around your thighs.
16. Having no idea what your "shape" is.
Pear, apple, hourglass … you're basically all of those, rolled into one confused (yet lovely!) package.
17. Your BMI is beyond baffling.
You can work out, eat right, and be in great shape, but your legs carry weight that bumps your BMI up, leading to your doctor giving you the side-eye whenever you go in for checkups.
18. Everyone just assumes you're athletic.
Even if you've never taken a dance class or played a game of soccer in your life, everyone infers that you're basically Mia Hamm.
19. Standard-size desks never fit your legs underneath.
You either have to adjust your chair or sit with your legs out from under it. And forget trying to cross them.
20. The childhood nicknames.
Kids can be mean — especially about bodies. On the bright side, you're an adult now and can embrace the beauty of your thighs! Even if they're a little frustrating every now and again, you can still show 'em love every time you look in the mirror.
Sam's enthusiasm for makeup is only rivaled by their love of all things relating to cats. In their spare time, they enjoy watching scary movies, putting avocado on everything, and seeing how many shades of the rainbow they can dye their hair before 30.
