One of the quickest ways to add polish and authenticity to a vintage ensemble is with a vintage manicure. But just what IS a vintage manicure and how does it differ from today’s styles?
Just like today, a manicure of the past was more than just a fancy way to finish your fingers. It was and is an indicator of social standing. Having highly polished and tended nails says, ” I don’t need to do all those menial things like housework, I can afford to lounge around flashing my jewellery on these stunning red nailed hands.” That doesn’t make it true of course, but we can at least pretend.
Dita Von Teese does it vintage style
The first indicator of a vintage manicure style is in the shaping of the nails. Where it is popular today to have nails squared off or squared with rounded corners, an oval shape was most desired in the past. Think of an almond coming to a gentle point at the end of the finger. This required careful filling to create the shape, and for you will require a bit more care to keep them intact. Filling the nail into this shape makes them inherently more prone to breakage, but you may find that with a good hardener they stand up to the task.
When it comes to colour you can forget you “vamps” in black or blue; rose in all its various forms was the order of the day. That is not to say that other colours were not available, (yes, even greens were around), but pinks, peaches, corals and reds were the most complimentary shades to the colour palette of the clothing at the time. Companies such as Cutex, published charts of recommended shades, their suitability for different occasions and your social status. While the softer of the rose palette was appropriate for day wear, reds, garnets and darker shades were appropriate for evening wear. When you’re ready to make a selection for yourself, choose which ever shade you please, just stay away from frost and metallic finishes to keep it authentic.
The most noticeable difference is in the painting technique. It was considered to be a sign of good breeding during the late twenties and early thirties, to paint only part of the nail, leaving the moons and the tips un coloured. It may be more time consuming to achieve than painting the whole nail, but it does make the manicure last longer, particularly if you spend a lot of time typing! This style was considered more conservative and left the painting of the whole nail to those women who were more “extreme”. By the late 1930’s however, Helena Rubenstein was an advocate for painting the whole nail, moons and all, heralding a new look in nail fashion.
Now you know the finer points, I’ve made you a little tutorial to try it for yourself!
So now you have the perfect vintage manicure, time to get all Femme Fatale and spend much of the time gesticulating, leaning into your hand and looking smolderingly over the top. Try it for yourself, they really are the bees knees.
Remember you can find this article and other great tips at
I was...
Hi, I need to “correct” you
The real almond shape is the form in which your nails would grow if left alone and the only shape which really helps to prevent breaking nails.
The best shape for your hand: take a look at your cuticles when carefully pushed down and then mirror this shape reversed for the point of your nails. This will be a kind of almond but never extremely pointed and never extremely square.
Well, it is too difficult to explain all this in English but I cured at least 300 women with always breaking nails by giving them the best (almond) shape
Makes every hand look extremely elegant!
Andrea: That is very interesting. The shape I’ve created is as you say, mirroring the cuticle shape. I’ll have to see how they fair compared the the usual “round / square” finish I mostly use. Taking Silicone has also helped stop the breakage for me.
If nails break very often you will find some reasons for it: one is that the “C-point” was filled away – which means you have a bridge without pillars.
O dear explaining something in English is a hard thing to do. If you are interested in learning how to bring nails back to life in about six weeks, let me know (there is mailadress on my blog) and I will try to make some pictures and drawings and explanations for you
Andrea: I think I understand what you mean. A gentle Almond has the ability to shore up the sides. I very sharp point (like Joan Crawford used to do) is fancy but not so practical. I’ll check out your blog, you seem to know an awful lot about nails! I am taking Silicone at the moment and is has done wonders for my nails.
Vv: Can’t wait to see yours.
Wanderlusting: I have all manner of strange and archaic beauty tips in my arsenal. I just may bring you some more.
Rebecca: I’ve seen some great modern versions of the same style in black and white and this years Paris Fashion Week.
Film Upstart: And show us your results too.
oh no, that’s not true, my nails don’t grow in almond shape! nor does my sisters or my moms. maybe we’re mutants.
i love this idea of a vintage manicure… it’s so differnt from modern nails, honesly, i keep mine natural because even if i dont do the dishes that much, i still manage to fuck up a nail do.
Jennine: Neither do my nails. They actually do a weird curvy thing, so I don’t think you’re the odd man (woman) out here. As for manicures standing up to the rigors of life, with two children and two dogs, mine takes a beating. I found this method, keeping the tips clear actually makes it last for ages as there isn’t he same issue with chipping at the edges from all the washing, typing etc..
This was very interesting! I’m going to try
Adorable! Loved the whole production, although don’t know that I’d ever do it – I tend to like more vampy dark square nails (Kinda like Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles in Cabaret – divine!), although I never thought I’d try victory rolls either but your tutorials proved too inspiring!
On another unrelated note, SKM, I was reading MX this afternoon and I came across a funny article about the government in Singapore encouraging their citizens to be more friendly towards each other to promote more happiness. They’re modelling themselves on the Japanese and how polite and gracious they are to each other, and you know that they’re calling the movement? The Singapore Kindness Movement – SKM!!!!
Nokomi: I read that article and thought the same thing! How hilarious! Perhaps I should sort some talks with them and offer to be the poster girl?
Wow! What an absolutely fascinating article! Thank you so much for sharing all this. I had absolutely no idea!!!
Lovely article and video! I usually do the half moon, but I don’t leave the tips bare, I paint it all the way a la Dita up there. I do use metallic colours too, but that’s just my personal taste rather than period accuracy – I think they’re nice!
An economical way to do it is with using paper hole reinforcers.
@Fleur – “An economical way to do it is with using paper hole reinforcers.”
Oh my goodness, how brilliant!
While I tend to keep my nails short and polish free (I ruin my nails by peeling it off), this was a completely fascinating read! It’s interesting to see how much a style can change, on something quite simple, within 70 years…
In my opinion the style looks somehow odd, but in the same time fascinatingly beautiful. Sadly my nails are currently in catastrophic state and I can’t try the style out (of course I could try artificial nails, but I hate those…). I prefer Dita’s style, but I think I’ll first try the authentic 30’s style. As a big fan of nail trimming, I’m amazed I’ve never seen anything alike. Was this only a short-term fashion?
Fantastic! Nails are seriously my “thing” I always have to have manicured polished nails. It is a good job I’m neat-handed and can do them very easily myself. I have tried this a few times and it is an interesting look though I too paint the tips Dita-style. I go for any colour though not just the reds and a pointier shape of nail, the squared-off finish always makes me think of fake nails – maybe thats just me.
Loved the music on the video!
Lovely! I have so much trouble with the French strips, though. I’m forever peeling off the tape to find an ugly, uneven polish line. No matter how firmly I attach them, the paint seeps underneath. Any advice?
OohLaLaura: One of the tricks I’ve seen used with great success is painting side to side instead of top to tips. It avoids the polish pooling at that critical part on the tape. Try it and let me know how it works for you.
Floraposte: Yep, that music stayed in my head all day until I was told to shut up and stop singing.
Puurosukka: I thought the same at first, but now I am starting to like them more. At first I would glimpse them and think I had some bad chips, but that is conditioning for you.
Fleur: I love the metallic you used underneath. A very modern take. I’m going to try painting free hand next time and see what happens.
Ashe: I’ve done so for ages too as mine usually gets wrecked before the day is over. But one week on and these still look perfect! Did you see this style done in black and white at Paris Fashion Week? (I’ll have to post a photo for you all).
This was fascinating! I had no idea! Thanks for this
Oh my I’m loving leaving the half moon and nail tip free of varnish, I’m going to give it a whirl. Brilliant info!
Oh this looks fun! I want to try the style where you dont paint the tips or the moons!
sweet post – I love digging up vintage beauty tips like this. Such a novelty
ooh. I think I’ll give this a try-out.
I always have oval nails… and it always bothers me when you get them done properly that they want to file them square… so I just do them myself… although, these day I just leave them bare
I’ve always worn the almond shape, quite short, as that was what my mother and older sister wore- so I just never abandoned it. I still can’t apply deep colour myself without smudges. I often buff, also a vintage look. They also pushed back the cuticle but did not prune with a sharp cutter that creates deep, aggressive grooves.
I ALWAYS have to teach manicurists, who only know how to do squares or “squovals”- many have never seen an oval nail so I carry a photo of Uma Thurman’s perfect short ovals I found in Vogue.
[...] ? If you want some vintage nails to go with your dress, check out Super Kawaii Mama’s post on DIY Vintage Manicure. [...]
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[...] Super Kawaii Mama – Vintage beauty tips from Super Kawaii Mama [...]
[...] Super Kawaii Mama – Vintage beauty tips from Super Kawaii Mama [...]
[...] Super Kawaii Mama – Vintage beauty tips from Super Kawaii Mama [...]
very interesting article ! makes me wanna try this on my nails
[...] Super Kawaii Mama – Vintage beauty tips from Super Kawaii Mama [...]
[...] Super Kawaii Mama – Vintage beauty tips from Super Kawaii Mama [...]
this was really interesting to me! thanks for this post. and i love that you have to do a math problem to post a comment. that’s awesome i wish my blog had that!
I saw Public Enemies last night and they had a close up of Billies hand and she had the Dita version of this mani and I thought of this post. Anyway I thought it was cool.
Thank you for the lovely tutorial!! However, I’m quite a frugal one and I tend not to use tip guards; rather, I paint the lines over the lunula/under the nail line by keeping the nail brush still on one end and moving my finger like you would if you were doing fingerprints (sorry if that sounded confusing).
Drisana: Oh I wish I could do that, but I think I need lots more practice. I tried once but they were so wobbly and bad that I just took the shorter
way, but I don’t see that as a long term solution – and certainly no help in the days when they didn’t have such things!