She's Got Legs

I'm 5'6" on a tall day, but I have the legs of a 5'8" woman (and she probably wants them back). They are slender, with curves and muscles in what I'm told are the right places; they can walk and run for many miles, and I count them among my physical blessings.

I was in a Pilates class the other day that incorporated elements of ballet, and all the barre work I've done over time came back as if Mme. Poliakoff, who taught me when I was eight, was still yelling at me: the positions, the turnout, and the way I felt: tall and pulled up and as graceful as the Sugar Plum Fairy. (Which, I assure you, is not what you'd have thought if you saw me stumbling through the New York snow this morning.)

But back when I imagined myself as a ballerina, I didn't think of the biggest benefit of having long, strong legs: being able to wear five-inch heels and have them look like this:

(Post title from the ZZ Top video, in which a bevy of long-stemmed, '80s-attired beauties come to the rescue of a downtrodden sister.)