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Square fingernails

klind65

One of the Regulars
Messages
162
Location
New York City
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please submit your opinions about this modern phenomenon of square nails. I don't understand them at all. To my mind, the point of a nail (for a lady) is to "finish" the finger in a tapering, elongating and slimming shape ( leading naturally to a point). In classic films, the ladies' nails are certainly done this way and I think they are extremely beautiful. The square nail, truncating the finger as it does would seem to accomplish just the opposite resulting in a lady's finger looking short, stubby, chunky and generally abrogating all the common sense tenets of classic beauty. How did this abomination occur and when will be its demise!!?? Ladies, how do you feel? Gentlemen, which type do you find attractive, and why?
 

Fletch

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,865
Location
Iowa - The Land That Stuff Forgot
I would think the square nail, tho it has no tip to break, would be more likely to split or catch at the corners, potentially causing a nasty cuticle rip.

My favorite nails are short and sensible, anyway.
 

Brad Bowers

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,187
I clicked on this thread thinking we were going to be talking about wood construction fasteners and tools.lol

I'll side with Fletch on this one, and then bow out of the conversation.

Brad
 

ladybrettashley

One of the Regulars
Messages
126
Location
the south
Brad Bowers said:
I clicked on this thread thinking we were going to be talking about wood construction fasteners and tools.lol

Me too! Which might explain why my opinions on this differ. I have terribly fragile fingernails to begin with, on top of which i work with my hand a great deal. As such, i'm lucky to get my nails to reach my fingertips, and anything beyond that would be impractical even if it were an option.

So, i tend to keep mine squarish - but no sharp corners or anything! I find it the most practical and attractive option at this short length.
 

pretty faythe

One Too Many
Messages
1,820
Location
Las Vegas, Hades
I'm more inclined to agree with Elaina, a squoval.
I've personally have always seen the pointy nails as creepy. And well, if you had an itch that wouldn't stop, wouldnt it draw blood or at least leave welts.........clears throat.
Any hooooooooooooo.
 

Elaina

One Too Many
pretty faythe said:
I'm more inclined to agree with Elaina, a squoval.
I've personally have always seen the pointy nails as creepy. And well, if you had an itch that wouldn't stop, wouldnt it draw blood or at least leave welts.........clears throat.
Any hooooooooooooo.

Yes they do, and mine like to naturally point.

The style I have is a square tip and rounded edges, hence the name. It's not mannishly, or gaudily done like salons, as the square, and it's less likely not to break. The Zombie Couture blog has a fine example of this nail.
 

olive bleu

One Too Many
Messages
1,667
Location
Nova Scotia
i really don't like the feeling of long nails. i've never been able to put up with them and always end up breaking them anyway.i prefer mine nice and short and tidy.:)
 

klind65

One of the Regulars
Messages
162
Location
New York City
Brad Bowers said:
I clicked on this thread thinking we were going to be talking about wood construction fasteners and tools.lol

I'll side with Fletch on this one, and then bow out of the conversation.

Brad
Your post was hilarious! Still, sorry for the misunderstanding. By the way, I love your signature quote. SO TRUE! kind wishes, klind65
 

Incorporeal13

Familiar Face
Messages
53
Location
Knoxville, TN
My fingernails tend to grow in a natural oval shape, so I keep them that way. I'm not a fan of square nails either, not on me at least, I have very small hands anyways, if I square off my nails they tend to look unladylike and stumpy.
I guess a lot of it depends on your personal preference and nail growth.

An interesting note, too, square nails in traditional palmistry suggest that people are weak and subdued, while more rounded nails supposedly suggest strength and strong convictions. [huh]
 

Shirin

A-List Customer
Messages
468
Location
North Georgia
Mine grow naturally in an squ-ovals too. I keep them pretty short, enough to have a quarter moon at the tips. Any longer and they just split or break off. I used to file them to a very narrow point, trying to mimic a cat nail- but that didn't really last long after they kept splitting right into the nail bed- ouch!
 

SayCici

Practically Family
Messages
813
Location
Virginia
I keep mine as rounded ovals, but relatively short (1/4" or less) as I have a habit of catching or nicking them on things.
 

zetwal

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,343
Location
Texas
I too say no to square nails on both points. They're unattractive as well as impractical.
 

Missy Hellfire

One of the Regulars
Messages
138
Location
Blighty
I have to do a lot of typing in my job and so my nails are generally kept fairly short and in the aforementioned 'squoval' shape (straight sides, rounded top!). I really dislike the aesthetic of the square nail although I do notice that many instances of the square nail seem to occur in fake nails done by salons. I wonder does the nature of the fake nail lend anything towards the emergence of this phenomena. I know a girl who is training as a nail technician, I shall enquire!
 

pretty faythe

One Too Many
Messages
1,820
Location
Las Vegas, Hades
I know when I go and get my nails done they ask if I want then squared or rounded. I tell them I want them rounded but for some reason they always come out coming out looking square to me, so when I come home I wind up rounding them out to the squ-oval myself.
 

Paisley

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,439
Location
Indianapolis
olive bleu said:
i really don't like the feeling of long nails. i've never been able to put up with them and always end up breaking them anyway.i prefer mine nice and short and tidy.:)

Me, too. Since my nails are thin but sharp, I keep them short partly out of consideration for my dance partners.
 

Elaina

One Too Many
pretty faythe said:
I know when I go and get my nails done they ask if I want then squared or rounded. I tell them I want them rounded but for some reason they always come out coming out looking square to me, so when I come home I wind up rounding them out to the squ-oval myself.


When I get acrylics I fight for ovals. I've shown several how to shape them, and I make them do it until it's an oval. Square is popular because it's easy to do. Natural nails are squoaval. I hear you tho.
 

Quixoticlio

New in Town
Messages
12
Location
Surrey, England
I hate the square nails trend, they look much too like claws for my taste. My own nails are usually a squoval shape, because i don't like overly rounded or pointy nails either. I guess I'm just really picky abut my nails!
 

Lady Jessica

One of the Regulars
Messages
243
Location
Southern California
Elaina said:
When I get acrylics I fight for ovals. I've shown several how to shape them, and I make them do it until it's an oval. Square is popular because it's easy to do. Natural nails are squoaval. I hear you tho.

When I went and got these done for Prom, the guy doing my nails made sure I understood what I was asking for about four times before he finally did it.

"An oval, are you sure?"
"Yes, please round it."
"You don't want a square?"

For about five minutes that conversation went on. And the length was another problem, I wanted them short because otherwise they get caught on things. He asked me for three minutes if I was sure about that.

I thought squares were popular because they were "modern" while ovals/squovals are "retro/vintage". But, that's just my theory. I know the girl in front of me in English had insanely long square tips. While mine were short and oval, and generally got more questions about (people would comment on the color or shape, mostly).
 

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