10.15.2010

GLAM OR SHAM?: Men Wearing Nail Polish + Q&A With A Bonafied Polish Wearing Man



I finally stopped reeling in shock from reading the news about Justin Beiber teaming up with OPI's Nicole to create his own line of nail polishes (that's what it looks like above). I wasn't really in shock because of the fact that it's Justin Beiber designing nail polish (ok, yeah, that is weird within itself) but it was more about the fact that now the straight boys are wearing polish, too. Say what?!

Here's my socialite friend Jey Van-Sharp of Uberlife hanging out at a party (no surprise there). However, I was surprised to notice his chipped black nails...

Now, I'm not saying this is anything new..boys wearing nail polish. Because I've been going to gay clubs/bars and riding the L Train for years now in New York ( 5 to be exact) and have spotted men with painted nails galore in both of these locations. I even spotted it on eyelash guru Ja'Maal Buster at a recent event. (He informed me that Rihanna suggested he do it while they were hanging out at one of her video shoots.) But, what is new to me is that I'm starting to spot it more and more on the streets of Manhattan.

Here's a new guy named Bradley that Coutura and I met while hanging out at the SoHo Grand. (Yeah, we're on a man hunt and have been hotel hopping because, according to this story in NY Magazine, hotels are the new hot spots.)
Check out his nails:



Here's what he had to say about men wearing nail polish: "I think it's just one more way to show your vibe; accesorize to a certain degree. I don't think that nail polish has to be a feminine thing anymore."
When I asked where he was from ("Missouri," he answered), Coutura responded by asking him what he thought his folks back home would have to say about his painted nails.
"Um, they wouldn't be down with it," he said. "That why I like New York because you can be expressive with it and people aren't so quick to judge. But, in middle America they still have these strict gender roles. Not that it's a bad thing, but it's just difficult to get out of."
And then I just had to get into his hair..because look at it:




Here's what he had to say about his half-head of corn rows (braided by Miss Corneeba of Harlem): "I don't want to cut my hair but I still needed to funk it up a little bit so I figured why not get some cornrows? It's funky. It has personality to it and it's something that I like and is very unique to me, I guess. I respect Miss Corneeba. If she can sell the white boy (i.e. me) cornrows, then she's definitely a hussler."

Now, I want to hear from you Glamazons. What do you think about all of this man polish business? Guys: are you going to start painting your nails? Ladies: would you date a guy that had painted nails? OH and what do you think of Bradley's hair and nails?! Tell me everything below in the comments section.

xo
Ferocia


3 comments:

Sandrine Charles said...

Thanks for putting my boo in there!

Elmware said...

I'm a guy and I've been painting my nails for the past couple years now. It started when I saw these Konad nail stamps. I thought they were neat and started experimenting with them to see what I could get away with for designs and such. I even got this one idea to use the cow print and cheetah print to make a camouflage pattern by stamping brown, green and black over a cream color base coat and received many compliments on it.

Jake said...

Hey, I'm a guy and have been wearing my toenails painted since before this article was written - still am! I began when my GF suggested I get a pedicure due to the generally poor condition of my feet and toenails. The pedi was enjoyable and really helped 'tune up' my foot health. On a subsequent visit the pedicurist suggested trying nail polish because "it would look good on your feet", so I did. She was absolutely correct and I wear them painted now all of the time.
The most significant advantage for me was that I was taking much better care of my feet because I liked how they looked with polish. And yeah, the colors are too cool!

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