I don’t read fashion magazines or go to fashion “events” to see what trends are happening. Instead, I’ve been spending my time in doctor’s waiting rooms getting checked in by desk gals who sport seven-inch nails and five-inch eyelashes and waist-length purple coiled hair extensions. Trust me, medical front desks are beauty front lines. No wonder Sephora is doing better than Nordstroms.
But it’s the nail explosion that has really taken off. Look at the latest sports injury and controversy over WNBA’s Caitlin Clark getting “accidentally” stabbed by DiJonai Carrington’s “stiletto” finger to Clark’s eye during a blocked shot attempt. Will fake nails now be prohibitive in sports competitions?
Remember the days of $20 manicures? Not anymore!! First of all, who gets a regular manicure anymore — or even a decent cuticle clip? Even acrylic tips have hit the dust. It’s now all “liquid extensions,” “gel 3-D” nail art or “chrome powdered” dips. And it may cost you $120.00 … or $200 for a 90-minute session. And that doesn’t include a “hand massage” or nail care!
There’s actually a great deal of cultural history having to do with nails. Nailed It is a 2019 documentary focusing on the history of Vietnamese entrepreneurs coming here in the ’70s and making it a giant business. And get this — actress Tippi Hedren was the one behind all this and is called the “Godmother” of the nail industry. It seems Hedren was involved in California’s Vietnamese refugee camps. The women admired her nails. She got her Beverly Hills manicurist to teach them how to do it for cheap, and a cross-country boom was started. The Vietnamese singlehandedly created an eight-billion-dollar industry. A lot of the early Vietnamese salons started up in black neighborhoods — and it was the black clientele who brought the “nail art” forward. Hello ’90’s hip hop, Cardi B, Lil’ Kim, and Beyoncé’s “stiletto” and “coffin” nail styles.
All I know is the Vietnamese and Korean nail techs were the first to wear face masks (pre-pandemic) and have been heavily scrutinized for salon cleanliness and sanitation for years. Many were labeled “chop shops,” but no more as they have cleaned up their act with overall improved standards, including disposable nail tools and tubs.
Personally, I only started to go to a local Vietnamese manicurist after years of having a plain monthly mani done by Russian women (Russians are still popular) for a lot more money and softer chairs. Most women agree that getting a “mani/pedi” is the quickest service to make you feel like a new person. Botox and hair take more time and money. And now men and children are getting into the act. Grandmothers treat their 10-year-old granddaughters to their first beauty experience. And it is now a social norm for men to regularly get a mani/pedi despite the few disgusting yellow big-toed yeast infection hold-outs.
Currently, neighborhood corner nail salons are the common ground community centers. They are called “nail bars,” “nail lounges” and “nail spas” — no more salons. Which can be good and bad. For the most part the seating is tight, the “luxury” is nonexistent, and you might be forced to have a polite conversation with a seatmate who is talking loud on her cell phone while getting a crystal version of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” on her nails.
The biggest problem is the nail tech’s refusal to speak English. Seinfeld did a famous bit in one of the episodes where a Korean nail tech was trash talking Elaine to her colleagues as she got a pedicure. They had a hilarious closed caption translation of the tech’s conversation. We all feel they are talking about us to each other in front of us, but no one understands Korean or Vietnamese.
Who cares? They get the job done (cash mostly) and you are out the door in record time.
However, it is designer Marc Jacobs who has recently brought nail art into fashion headlines. He arrived at the recent Met Gala with a full set of 3XL square tipped black nails adorned with green rhinestones – making social media history ever since with his various nail designs. He has topped Barbra Streisand’s historic long “French Manicures” by getting his own manicures that take 8 hours to complete!
These sets are not a new part of his collection — they are for his own self-expression. His huge Instagram following questioned, “How does he go to the bathroom?” … let alone cook a meal or open a door. I must say it’s fun to watch him fan his daggers as he talks or taps the table to make a point.
Forget eyelashes and hair. It’s time a museum stepped-up to do a historic show on all the pricey shellacked and drilled and double-gelled hand jobs!
