All Hail the 'Thigh Lie,' Every Celebrity's New Favorite Pose

While I may not be a red carpet regular, I—unabashedly—will beg whoever I'm with to take about 500 iPhone photos of me whenever I wear a cute outfit. There are only so many hand-on-hip pics a girl's Instagram grid can handle, however. So in an attempt to keep my OOTDs feeling fresh, I'm always on the lookout for the next best pose.

This year has already brought us the Breast Rest—a rather risqué move favored by Gen Z baddies that, as a 35-year-old followed by my aunts, uncles and co-workers, I have not even attempted to adopt myself. But upon scouring snaps of celebrities at the 2026 Academy Museum Gala recently held in Los Angeles, I couldn't help but notice star after star striking the very same stance—one that I could very well imitate: head up, shoulders proud, palms pressed flat into their...thighs?

There was Euphoria's Alexa Demie doing it in her blue feathered gown. "Old Money" influencer Sofia Richie Grainge doing it in her all-black ensemble. Filmmaker Ava DuVernay, actress Ana de Armas and It Girls both new (Monica Barbaro) and established (Amber Valletta), all laying their hands firmly at the top of their legs.

Yes, folks, the Thigh Lie is here, and it's pretty much the cool-girl update of the millennial Teapot. But, dare I say, it's even more flattering?

The move is softly statuesque—hinting at a Greek goddess set in stone—and makes ingenious use of negative space. With elbows slightly bent and curved away from the body, it gives shape to the space around the torso, naturally accentuating its curves and creating the illusion of an hourglass. The lower placement of the hands at the thighs, rather than the waist or hip, meanwhile, also works wonders to elongate the silhouette. (Think: Long, uninterrupted lines versus the Teapot's sharp, wide cutoff at the waist.) As one of my colleagues put it yesterday, "The lower the hand placement, the chicer the stance."

Some approaches are more dramatic than others—peep Oscar nominee Teyana Taylor's bold arm angling—and there are subtle variations in placement, but in every case there exudes a quiet sense of confidence and agency. Rather than let her hands flop lifelessly down at her sides, the poser is giving them a place and a purpose. Overall, I think the effect is incredibly elegant.

Now, you may be thinking, is this pose actually brand new? While it's likely to have been captured on red carpets before, it wasn't nearly as prominent or intentional at past events like this year's Oscars, Golden Globes or Emmys—I checked! So did all these A-listers just hire the same posing coach, Bring It On-style, or did someone discover the recipe and pass it around to their friends? Either way, I'm not mad about it—it looks good for practically everyone and it doesn't involve grabbing a tata and giving my elderly aunt a heart attack. Now, who's down to dress up and take some pics?