Black-and-Tanicure

To my mind, a black-and-tan is something to order from Chumley's, the late, great Village joint with the secret entry.

But August's Vogue shows Karlie Kloss wearing a black-and-tan manicure, with some definitely pointy filed tips.

Would gentle readers try this black-and-tanicure for fall, with or without the long points?


**If you want a piece of Chumley's, Rick Kelly at Carmine Street Guitars is making knotty-pine telecasters from that fabled speakeasy's wood.

And if you want the black-and-tanicure, it was done by Yuna Park at Streeters.

Mad Men(icures) II

For me, the overt sexual appeal of January Jones in this accessory ad is undercut by her manicure, as I've written about here.

But isn't it amusing to see "Betty" don Versace?

Mad Men(icures)

In a recent Bazaar article on new manicure colors and shapes, the author recommended looking to Mad Men for a longer, almond-shaped nail.

I remember being vaguely repelled by the manicures in MM, precisely, I think, because we’re supposed to be.

Consider Betty Draper’s hands in an early episode when she loses control of the steering wheel or can’t apply her lipstick: her clumsiness indicates her repressed frustration over her status as Don’s wife, and her awkward manicure punctuates that thought.

Indeed, Betty’s nails seem like artificial appendages that get in the way of everyday activities. She doesn't even eat supper with the family, smoking and drinking instead, as if managing a knife and fork is simply too difficult. Note, too, how her long nails curl up a little at the end, suggesting their inappropriate fit on her hands, the poor fit of her character to her life.

There’s also Glenn’s mother, who has long, red pointy nails, which, ahem, point to her being marked as a divorcée, a woman whose selfish actions threaten the other wives (could she have designs on their husbands?).

The manicures of the other female characters didn’t leave an impression in my mind. But if I were to follow Bazaar’s advice to emulate a Mad Men manicure, I might cheekily look to Betty’s hands when she’s shooting at the birds. In this moment of inspired Hitchcock one-upwomanship, Betty’s manicure is tellingly all but invisible as she finally asserts her authority.

Chipped Nails, Anyone?

The New York Times Thursday Styles section ran an article on how chipped nail polish (on the fingers only, please) is the hot new look for women under 35.

Artfully worn with a $5000 handbag in tow, chipped nail polish (in a dark, plummy color), apparently says that the wearer is so financially and stylistically secure that she can break some grooming rules—or set some new ones.

I’m a devotée of boho chic; indeed, there’s nothing that makes me squirm more than feeling matchy-matchy, but I think that this look would work on very, very few women.

Remember a young Helena Christensen with Chris Isaak in the gorgeous Herb Ritts “Wicked Game” video? She wore ragged nail polish mixed with granules of sand and looked utterly alluring. Of course Helena’s natural beauty made the chipped nails cool, much like the expensive bag tries to do for those mortals who don’t look like Ms. Christensen.

But there’s a fine line between alluring and skanky here, and I’m not sure if the money bag offsets the trashiness of the nails.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a proper manicure. When I worked in Toronto, I used to treat myself to a mani-pedi at Mira Linder’s Spa in the City (is it still there, TO readers?), where motherly, round European women would vigorously massage and refine my digits.

And in New York I’d eschew the smaller joints (and am glad I did after reading in New York Magazine about the working conditions for the immigrant women) for Frederic Fekkai’s oasis in the Chanel building.

But now I favor the au naturel look for my hands, primarily because I don’t have the vigilance to keep polish neat, what with three children, etc., etc. So perhaps I should cheer the new chipped look, since neatness is now a moot point.

Chipped nail polish wouldn’t work for me, though, because it would come across as collateral damage caused by my very full, hectic life. Indeed, I think it’s those who have leisurely lives who can pull off such a look; the chipped nails can then represent an ironic beauty instead of being a mark of someone who is unable to get her grooming act together.

So what do you think? Anyone going to wear chipped polish by design—or by accident?