It's time to give yourself a leg up

Help, it's Bare Leg Season! But don't panic - follow our guide to get your pins ready for spring

- BY ROSE BEER

Like the first sighting of daffodils, the firing-up of the barbecue and the constant temptation of foil-wrapped Lindt bunnies, the arrival of Bare Leg Season is one of spring's great inevitabilities. One minute we're tugging on jeans, blissfully unaware of the state of our shins, toes, knees and thighs. The next, an unseasonably warm day shows up and we're faced with the cold, hard truth that our legs after months in hibernation are far from ready for public consumption.

For me it goes like this: the sun comes out, I reach for a dress, inevitably late; the pub, the park and my friends are calling. Alas - the awful realisation that my skin looks like parchment, dry, dull and in need of sanding. My knees, which haven't seen the light of day since September, are demonstrating a remarkable melange of ruddy-meets-pale. There are rogue bruises of unknown origin and I grew a baby, so I'm not as firm as I'd like. I won't mention my feet. It feels like a lot. And it is. But this year I will do better. Be more polished and pulled-together so that when it's time I can whip my legs out with style, confidence and aplomb. Want to give it a go? Here's what we'll do.

Smoothly does it