For so long the long nail trend has been at the forefront of style for the hands. It’s been a signal of elegance and put-together-ness, this idea that having your nails done and long provides a slimming look to your hands while also indicating to others that you are well-put-together. Yay for you. Starting my junior or senior year of high school I started getting my nails done regularly. It was something that felt fun and grown up; like it was some sort of right thing to do. I was becoming a woman by sitting in a chair every two weeks and sweating over the perfect light pink shade to put on my fingers. What would this say about me for the next two weeks? What events did I have coming up and what outfits would I be wearing? Having short naked nails wasn’t something I even considered.
The color, shape, and length of my nails were always a signal towards the success of what my life was going to be like. Don’t even get me started on the nine months before my husband was going to propose and I knew it was coming so I had the perfect shade of bridal pink on my short to medium round/natural shaped nails. I was literally ready every day for nine months to get an engagement ring put on my finger and snap a cute pic. Now that’s commitment.
Stripping down nail trends
Over the years the style of nails have changed. And while everyone doesn’t have the same nail shape or length, there are certain acceptabilities that happen. There’s the long neon coffin nails–the ones that make you scratch your head (or not because you can’t) over how one does anything with nails like that, simple things like wiping your bum–to the classic french tip that became squared off at some point. These trends have become even more popular with social media, sharing creative ways that people are decorating their fingers.
As we know I have a thing for fantasizing my life as Carrie Bradshaw, and one of the most interesting components of her style was how she always had short plain nails (with I think one exception in “And Just Like That” when she has dark nails during the season two finale when she says goodbye to her apartment with a dinner party, otherwise she always had plain, short nails). And by short, her nails were really short, as short as they could reasonably go. The look whispered plain and simple, but there’s a strength to it that I find quite fascinating.
Doing some quick research people started painting their nails as far back as ancient Eypt, China, and Babylon, but it really became the thing to do during the 20th century. And in recent years the pandemic gave people some time to play with nail art at home. This article gives a cool breakdown on more of the history and some of the recent nail savants.
Benefits of short naked nails
Right before I gave birth to my son I had my nails cleaned up and made bare. I’d gone for over a decade and a half getting my nails done, and apart from a stint during the pandemic had never actively chosen to have my nails completely natural. I knew that there would be a process in cleaning them up and letting them grow out (from the damage caused by the gel, dip, gelX, etc. stylings I had done) but it felt like a bold thing to do. And it was timely that I was ingesting the magic that is Sex and the City, if Carrie Bradshaw could be so fabulous and have naked short nails then so could I.
As I write this I’m four months into my hand nudity and kind of loving it. Typing for one is so much easier, taking care of my baby is possible (I can’t imagine trying to change a diaper to do other delicate things with claws), but there’s also this tactileness with my fingers that I’m noticing for the first time in a long time. Like each finger is able to touch the tip of the other, and that might not make sense, but when you spend a good amount of your life in front of a camera (on Zoom people, calm down), it is such a unique feeling. But I still feel cool. I feel more cool than when I had my nails with a synthetic polish on. I am a big hand talker though, so that has to be a part of it.
Going deeper
I don’t know if I’d be at this point of creating two blogs a week and sending out a weekly newsletter if had long nails. Sure, I love the lengthening they give, it’s the reason why I have long hair right now as I recover postpartum, but it makes typing feel so much easier. There’s no nail getting in the way. Also, as a perfectionist I know how much time I’ve spent in my life vexing over nails. Don’t get me wrong, I knew it in the moment, this isn’t some realization I’m coming to me now that I used to spend time during each appointment and after worrying about the shade of the color, the shape of the nail, and in recent years, the thickness (thanks dip), but when I think about the energy wasted it was perhaps better for me to just not than to suffer through.
I’m sure I’ll get my nails done again. Once I’m more independent from my son and not breast feeding him so often I might venture out more and go to appointments I wouldn’t take him to (no thank you to the fumes for le bebé), but for now I’m fairly content having short nails. Their shape is still a little janky, but the freedom afforded by having very short, naked nails is kind of unmatched at this point in my life.
Styling short nails
The beauty of short nails, particularly naked short nails, is that they will go with…you guessed it–literally everything. Vogue even said so. You can have short nails for the weekend lounging around, and you can have them for a black tie event. You can have short nails all year long as they’re of course trans-seasonal, and you can rock them at any age.
If you are looking to add some color in then I am to no one’s surprise going to recommend a neutral; unless your wardrobe is full of color, I have seen women, myself included, actively stray way from an outfit or an article of clothing because it didn’t match the color of my nail polish, and when your nails are long that makes it even more challenging to conceal. Some great neutral colors are pinks and creams, and I consider black or a super-dark-almost-black-color to be a great neutral as well. Greys can work for some people, but I feel like at the end of the day a grey color kind of takes the life out of your hands, and a deep maroon can be gorgeous as well.
Don’t feel like you have to wear light colors in the spring and summer and dark colors in the fall and winter, that just simply isn’t true. Wear whatever feels right. Think about the events you have coming up, what you’re going to wear for the next few weeks, but also think about how you want to feel. I have chosen a darker color during times when I really need to feel powerful and confident, and a lighter color when I’m celebrating something and want to feel light.
I have chosen a darker color during times when I really need to feel powerful and confident, and a lighter color when I’m celebrating something and want to feel light.
‘My biggest recommendation though is try something new! If you haven’t let your nails breath in 1.5 decades or more, give your nails a break and go in the nude. And if you haven’t treated yourself to a manicure in a bit, go get those nails done girl. Just make sure whatever you do, you do the following things:
- Understand the upkeep. Know what the removal process is and make sure you’re ok with it.
- Don’t say “whatever you want” to the manicurist. That will always result in tears from sadness or anger. Tell them what shape, color, and thickness you want.
- Say you don’t like it. If and when they put on the first swipe of color and ask if you like it and if you don’t just say “that’s actually not my favorite, how about we try this other one.” It can be the scariest thing in the world but you can do it. Tits up.
