The TV and women's magazines are constantly telling us which tops, dresses, trousers and skirts to wear for our body type, but rarely are shoes mentioned. The fact of the matter is that legs come in as many different shapes and sizes and bums and tums do, so here's a guide to finding shoes to suit your legs...

Thick Ankles

Nicknamed 'cankles', when worn with the wrong shoes thick ankles can make it look as if our legs morph straight into our feet with nothing between. The rule here is quite simple: avoid wedges like the plague. If you've got a passion for cork heel wedges they can be very hard to give up, but you're never going to get rid of the thick ankle look in summer if you don't switch to stiletto heel sandals or simple heels. Flats are not so great for thick ankles either. Of course in winter it's very easy to cover up thick ankles with a pair of knee high boots, but for something a bit more in-between a pair of court shoes will even things out.

Skinny Ankles

You'd think that if wedges make people with thick ankles look even worse, that they'd work wonders for those with skinny ankles, right? Well, kind of. They're not awful but wedges tend to put the front of the ankle very much on show, so if this is one part of you foot you're not keen on, go for flat shoes instead. They make the foot sit in such a position that makes their surface area look larger and less pronounced.

Muscly/big Calves

Unfortunately for a lot of shorter women, having short legs means they are prone to being muscly or big. In this case you should be wearing shoes that make your legs looks longer (pointed stiletto mules, court shoes, heels etc.) and avoid avoid avoid shoes that have ankle straps. Ankle straps should be left for women with long, slender legs that need breaking up into two sections. One good way to create the illusion of long legs is to wear shoes with the top of the foot and toes bare as it leaves further for the eye to travel downwards.

If you can find ones to fit, knee high boots are great for covering up muscly legs and pulling them in to look more streamlined with the ankle and thigh.

Long Legs

These are usually seen as a good thing for a woman to have, but sometimes you don't want to stand out in the crowd and have people gawping at your pins. Instead of wearing high heeled shoes to make you taller, choose flats with an ankle strap; gladiator sandals are the perfect example of this very fashionable style. Also, wearing flat ankle-high boots in the colder months will make your legs look slightly shorter.

Not all of us are lucky enough to be blessed with perfect legs. Knobbly knees, thick ankles, pale skin and bulging muscles are all things that a huge percentage of the population suffer from, but few of us actually know how to make the best of them too. Hopefully now with this guide you'll know what style to look out for, for your type of legs.