Does My Nail Shape Bother You?

TikTok is my guilty pleasure, where I go to zone out from the world and feel a little moment of joy. I’ve trained the algorithm well; 99% of the time, I see videos that inspire me to spend money, but every so often, it serves me something more thought-provoking. That’s exactly what happened when I stumbled upon a video by nail content creator Shana, aka @vintage_dusties, which was posted to Instagram by Allure. Shana’s account is dedicated to reviving vintage nail polish and painting her nails with it. A harmless pursuit, right?

It seems not. The comments section on that now-viral video is flooded with unsavoury remarks about the shape of her nails, a distinctive short stiletto inspired by 1930s Hollywood.

For a moment, I was astounded. How could hundreds of people feel so strongly about the shape of someone else’s nails? Instead of scrolling past onto someone’s latest clothes haul, the journalist in me was intrigued — so I kept digging. It turns out that there’s an entire world of nail shape hate on TikTok. Square nails? They're passé, apparently. Almond nails? So millennial coded. While my search didn’t exactly lift my mood, it did get me thinking: Who gets to decide which nail shapes are in — and which ones are out? And why do other people’s nail shapes provoke such strong reactions? 

I took to Instagram to poll my friends and followers on what they believe to be the current ‘cool’ or ‘It’ nail shapes, and overwhelmingly, they pointed to mine: the short, neat squoval popularized by manicurists like Harriet Westmoreland and Julia Diogo, aka @paintedbyjools. One thing is clear: social media plays a huge role in shaping which nail styles become de rigueur. A quick scroll through Instagram serves up an abundance of evidence — thousands of close-ups of immaculate, short manicures like mine, with nail artists tagged as though they're fashion designers.

Trend forecaster Angela Baidoo has been tracking this shift toward what she calls the “minimal and micro,” or as she also puts it, “the new ‘demure’ beauty ideal.” It’s no surprise, she says, given the fashion and beauty industries’ obsession with ‘quiet luxury’ and ‘trad wife’ aesthetics. As fashion historian Suzanne E. Shapiro, author of Nails: The Story of the Modern Manicure, pointed out in a previous Refinery29 article, well-manicured nails have long been associated with status across many cultures. Perfect nails and soft skin historically signalled that one didn’t work with their hands. Still, individuals of all classes have taken pride in grooming, said Shapiro, turning to home remedies to buff, trim, and care for their nails — even while leading physically demanding lives. Maya Regan, assistant beauty trends editor at Stylus: The Trends Intelligence Business, agrees: “The quiet luxury trend is driving a preference for elevated simplicity, which is steering softer and more wearable round shapes like almond and oval — styles that feel polished and effortlessly chic,” she says.

Kimberley Nkosi, once manicurist to multiple senior royals, says it’s no accident that they tend to choose a similar shape and style: “The royal family’s signature nail look — short, neat, barely-there neutral tones — isn’t just about personal taste,” notes Nkosi. “It’s a visual code; a quiet signal of restraint, tradition and ‘appropriate’ femininity within their class structure. There’s an unspoken expectation here — an inherited standard of what is considered refined, ladylike and proper.”

Nkosi adds that lots of our nail choices are deeply rooted in class performance, where subtlety equals sophistication, and loud or extravagant nails can be read (unfairly) as ‘tacky’ or ‘too much.’ “It’s the same reason we associate [short], neutral manicures with high society, even outside royal circles,” says Nkosi. “That ‘clean’, unobtrusive look has been marketed to us as the gold standard of ‘elegance’— especially for white, upper-class femininity.”

When celebrity manicurist Harriet Westmoreland skyrocketed in popularity, so did her signature short, squoval nail. With a manicure costing upwards of £200 (approximately $265), this shape, length and distinct lack of cuticles has become the look du jour among the famous and wealthy who can afford it. Those who can’t often seek to replicate the style elsewhere. But the question remains: Are we coveting the look or the lifestyle of her clients? I choose my ‘Harriet Westmoreland nails’ because of what they represent: good grooming and a chic persona. They align with my job, the circles I move in and the direction I want my career to go. These nails have been culturally coded this way throughout history, and regardless of trends, they seemingly remain a timeless symbol of what’s chic.

Beauty Editor and manicure enthusiast Tori Crowther believes nothing in beauty is ever surface-level: “Even if it's subconscious, attitudes towards manicures are deeply embedded in our culture, biases and experiences,” she says. The opposite of short nail shapes is the long, square, typically acrylic nails often associated with — and popularized by — Black people. For Black nail artist Sadie J, they evoke memories of “Caribbean women who love loud nails with bright colors, bold prints and embellishments.” Yet the judgments often cast on these nails reflect the longstanding double standards in beauty culture, where styles pioneered by marginalized communities are frequently stigmatized, only to be appropriated when accepted by the mainstream.

Baidoo says that Black and brown people have often been the blueprint for several beauty trends like long square nails, before the masses catch on, rebrand them, and make them popular: “This often means a sanitization and erasure of the originators of these trends,” says Baidoo. “Too often, Black and brown women from a certain demographic, with extravagant nails, will be labelled as ‘hood’ or ‘ghetto’, until it is picked up by the mainstream and worn by, say, Kylie Jenner.” Only then are these nails considered ‘avant-garde’ or ‘bold’, says Baidoo.

While these judgements exist — and many people make nail choices shaped by privilege and bias — nails remain a simple form of self-expression for others. Black beauty journalist Aaliyah Harry loves bold nail art and long lengths: “It’s such a fun way to express myself,” she says, adding that she tried short nails once, but felt they didn’t authentically represent her. “These days, I always gravitate towards longer lengths, usually in a coffin or almond shape,” she tells me. “There’s something about those silhouettes that feels truer to my style.”

Where nail shapes are concerned, trends are cyclical and constantly shifting. As Regan notes, they’re influenced both by who’s popular on social media and what’s happening on the runways each season. “For S/S 25 and A/W 25 we have noted a move towards much more striking shapes that focus on length to enable more play with color, patterns and embellishment,” she explains. Celebrities also play a big role in steering these shifts. “[There’s a wave of] celebrities endorsing longer and more maximalist nail shapes to showcase individuality — think Chappell Roan, Doechii and Cynthia Erivo.”

As trends continue to evolve, age certainly plays a role in shaping nail preferences. For Gen Z, short, natural, or sheer-toned nails are perceived as effortless and modern thanks to trends like ‘soap nails.’ Millennials, it seems, remain loyal to almond or coffin shapes — versatile, elegant, and easy to maintain. Meanwhile, square nails — once the gold standard of the early 2000s — have become “boomer coded” on TikTok, evoking memories of chunky French tips and thick acrylic. 

Digital creator Anniie Arif — famous for her medium-length, squared-off almond nails — believes age certainly influences how we perceive nail shapes: “I’m 34, and I feel like this shape strikes that balance between stylish and mature,” she says. “It’s feminine without being too trendy, and it just works for where I’m at right now.” It’s a reminder that our beauty choices often go deeper than just aesthetics, but is that how older generations think about their nails, too?

I asked my 70-year-old mom, who loves to get her nails done, but always opts for a short, rounded, nude-toned manicure. “I’ve nothing against long nails, they just wouldn’t work for my lifestyle,” she tells me. “I do a lot of practical jobs around the house, and I prepare a lot of food. Long nails would just get in the way of that,” she adds. “As for the color, I’ve always been a shy and quiet person, so I will always try to minimize drawing attention to myself.” She also mentions that it could be partly due to the way she was raised: “Nobody in my family ever wore anything too flamboyant or colorful.”

Suzie Bonaldi, a fashion and beauty vlogger and manicurist, says it's easy to assume one age bracket or class leans towards a certain type of nail shape or length. “But for the average person living their life offline, it really is a case of lifestyle over aesthetics,” she asserts. We often forget that for many, social media doesn’t play a role in nail choice, thanks to prioritizing practicality over trends. Individuals with busy or hands-on jobs might opt for shorter, more practical nail shapes, while others may prefer more classic or subdued colors for professional settings.

It would be remiss not to talk with Shana, aka Vintage Dusties, the TikToker behind the viral videos where this very debate exploded in the comments. Her nails are a short stiletto, but to her, they are 1930s Hollywood-esque — a deliberate choice that aligns with her videos in which she revives vintage nail polishes. She actively pushes back against narrow beauty standards by championing this unconventional nail shape and celebrating it as art, expression, and a nod to history.

But I think Shana gives her haters more grace than they probably deserve: “It’s just a very human response to be uncomfortable with the unfamiliar,” she tells R29. “I’m very accustomed to negative reactions, so it doesn’t bother me in the least.” Her nails proudly challenge mainstream beauty norms: “Many viewers will comment that they initially hated my nails, but they’ve grown comfortable with the shape after repeated exposure.”

In the comments of her videos, she responds to those who call her nails “gross” or “nasty”, flipping the narrative and challenging the idea of what is beautiful. She’s not alone: a growing wave of nail artists and creators are reclaiming space for aesthetics that have long been policed, offering a more inclusive vision of beauty that embraces difference rather than punishing it. Take content creator Blair McLurkin, for example, who inspires her audience with her long and elaborately decorated press-on nails, proving that you don’t need to be able to grow your own to express yourself.

I used to think that short, barely-there nails were the gold standard of elegance, but I’m rethinking what that even means — and who gets to define it. Nail shapes aren’t just about what flatters your hands; they’re tiny reflections of status, culture, and the unspoken rules we’ve absorbed without even realizing. What’s seen as stylish on one person might be labelled “tacky” on another, and those judgements are often drawn along lines of race and class. Nail shapes might seem like a small detail, but they carry the weight of who’s allowed to take up space, express themselves, and still be seen as “appropriate”. In a culture obsessed with defining good taste, maybe it’s time we stopped playing by the rules altogether.