"Nail polish is disposable jewelry for the hands," explains a salon customer. "I can change the color of my nails to match my clothes, or my mood," she points out, her brightly painted nails punctuating the air in a finger ballet of frosted fuschia.
A woman's hands reveal silent volumes about her. In today's image-conscious society, they are visible signposts pointing to her health, level of confidence, and personality. The fingers of reigning she-demon Joan Collins are razor-edged daggers dipped in blood-red lacquer. Liza Minnelli's "Sally Bowles" of Cabaret, a reckless character in the last gasp of a decadent era displayed fingernails were chewed to the quick and painted an anxious poison green.
Before they became accepted as serious artists, Cher, Barbra Streisand, and Diana Ross all sported vividly decorated nails several inches in length. Now, in keeping with their dignity as Oscar and Grammy winners, they have adopted more natural manicures, while Dolly Parton and La Toya Jackson continue to flaunt their clawlike grasp on extreme fashion. On the other hand, Nancy Reagan, Kitty Dukakis, and Barbara Bush are always well manicured and keep their nails a subtle color.
With such contrasting displays of digital style on some of America's most visible role models, what are the prevailing fashions in hand and nail care for American women today?
The quirkiest fad, among those with the time and money to indulge in it, is the long, highly decorated nail. Each nail is painted with several colors in bold patterns, usually in geometric or fanciful swirls; often, it takes several hours to complete both hands. Some nail artists paint with a small airbrush or, for a festive look, decorate the nails with tiny rhinestones. Others, working with false, glue-on nails, will drill holes through the false nail to attach a precious gem or stud.
The French Tip
But the most prevalent trend in nail fashion, according to Lorraine Davis, a professional manicurist with Shampoo Ltd. on Long Island, is the French Tip, a thirteen-dollar manicure style her weekly customers can easily afford. The free edge of the nail (the part that hangs over the finger) is filed into a natural oval shape, following the contours of the fingertip, or a blunt, squared-off edge with slightly rounded sides. The free edge is painted a solid white or cream color in a straight line across the top of the nail. After it dries, a clear or translucent overlay of nail lacquer, usually a beige or pick shade, is stroked over the entire nail. The effect is soft, feminine, and clean-looking.
One variation on the French tip is the Swiss tip, which is applied in a similar way, except that the white tip is painted on a slight diagonal. Another offshoot is the V tip. A V is painted in a light color on the free edge of the nail forming a triangle, with the apex of the triangle at the tip of the nail. The triangle is then filled in with a translucent or solid cream-colored polish.
A spokesperson for a nail-care firm confirmed the growing popularity of French tips, noting that European women (usually precursors of American trends by several years) have been wearing their nails clipped short and glazed with
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