Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

Never Is the Next New Thing

March’s Manicure by Tracylee Percival

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My last Gelish manicure by celebrity manicurist Tracylee Percival lasted two weeks to the day without a crack or chip! Amazing. When I used regular polish in my pre-Tracylee days, I couldn’t get through 48 hours without a chip. The long-lasting “Vanity Fair” purple-and-black nail design finally gave up the ghost yesterday. I couldn’t decide on a successor design, so I let Tracylee pick.

The blue color is Ocean Wave by Gelish. The white is nail-art paint like this. We’re calling this manicure “Check ME Out.” You have to say it the way Joey said, “How YOU doin’?” on Friends.

While Tracylee was carefully painting the checkerboard pattern, I reminisced again about how nail art would have been impossible to wear at any of my corporate jobs. Having crazy nails is one of the pleasures of being a jewelry designer.

Seen with my Fulvia ring in silver and blue topaz. Click to shop for the ring.

In my corporate days, there was one woman who dared to have insanely long nails. She was an executive in the information technology department, surrounded by men. It was pretty shocking for her to have a manicure that would put a Mob wife’s to shame.

Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano. Click for source.

I was always hypnotized by her nails in meetings. They were much more interesting than anything we were meeting about. I vividly remember the day she came in with one nail tip pierced by a small hoop earring. When she left the meeting early, we all fell out of our chairs laughing. Nowadays, radical nail looks are the height of chic, but I still wouldn’t recommend wearing them in a conservative work environment. You won’t be taken seriously. Yes, my blog motto is “Wear What You Want,” but, as I said in 2009, you have to consider where you are:

“Obviously, “Wear What You Want” doesn’t apply to every situation. You shouldn’t wear a boob belt dress to a funeral. Nor should you wear a skin-tight, backless white halter dress to your first day of work as an intern at CNN.”

There’s always an exception to the rule, and the dagger-nailed woman was so brilliant she was promoted to very senior positions. Even a manicure that made people laugh out loud couldn’t hold her back!

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Comments

  2. Ah Carmela-fuck you, no fuck you, you better watch your step,Soprano! Luv huh! Your mani is ok too I spose. LOL. I work in the ultra conservative world of medical research and am probably the only person in our department that ever has anything remotely crazy on the nails. I used to really worry about exposing tattoos and piercings blah blah blah, now I don’t give a fuck. Quite possibly because I hate my job. More LOLing. Also my spam word is donthate. Oh the irony!

  3. I’m a solicitor (which you’d call an attorney I think)and have a senior role in my organisation of 170 lawyers. I ‘spose in America you’d call it an executive role. I always wear brightly coloured nailpolish and so does my manager. No one blinks an eye. I think America is more conservative than Australia when it comes to polish. There was a Workforce Fashion Revolution back in 1999 and everyone stopped wearing suits and hosiery to law firms. What a Relief.

    Love the blog, and support you 100% with your own Commitment to Polish.

    Hooray.

    It makes me sad that people laughed at your former colleague’s polish. Nail jewels aren’t for me, but I absolutely hate it when women are mocked for their appearance at work. Especially when they have mad what can only be described as An Effort.

    We can only hope that one day, a commitment to crazy polish and success at work can co-exist happily. And Without Mockery from Colleagues.

    • I have to say that the woman did look like she strolled straight out of a Mob Wives/Real Housewives reality show, with the hair and makeup and everything…it really wasn’t professional and that’s going to be commented upon in a bank! At least her skills outweighed her style in this case!

    • I think that’s quite correct FF, Australia is more relaxed in such matters. Mind you I have never worked in a corporate environment so have no first hand experience. I work in the faculty of medicine at a university and the way some people dress makes me so cross due to the lack of making an effort! For example, seriously orthopedic sandals with thick white socks in a non-ironic manner! Lot’s of polyester. FF you would die and not in the Rachel Zoe way! Also non-mani-pedi hands and feet OMFG!AND no make-up!

  6. Love the mani, would love to do something similar but I’m one of those working in corporate environment. Oh well that’s what weekends are for right?
    BTW your ring is awesome as well.
    Marti
    Marti

  7. I remember meeting a work-at-home writer for the first time and being struck by her beautiful manicure. I figured that if she were spending all day at a keyboard writing (or as Truman Capote once cattily said of Jack Kerouac, “typing,”) she’d be inspired by her pretty nails.

  8. love the ring! so gorgeous! and the nails are reminding me of vans (you know — the ones skaters used to wear with the checkerboards!). 🙂

  9. Love the nails!! Makes me want to do mine–the only probably is that the process of making my jewelry destroys any manicure I attempt within hours (trust me, I’ve tried!). Clear nail polish is sadly about all I can manage these days….in the meantime I will just have to look at yours and be jealous!

  10. I can’t wear a skin-tight backless white halter dress on my first day? Crap! Now I need to re-think my first day.

    Check YOU out!

  11. Seriously Wendy, you always have the cutest dang nails!!

    I show my daughter each and every post you do….they are all totally up her alley!!

    Looking good as always! Happy Saturday!

  12. In my second job after graduating – which was much more corporate than my first – I turned up on the first day in tailored city shorts (knee length), a vintage cardigan and penny loafers. I was mortified when my boss pulled me to one side to tell me I couldn’t dress like that. It wasn’t considered smart enough.

    PS I’m coming to New York soon – maybe I can book an appointment with Traceylee?!

  14. Stunning nails! Your corporate work environment story had me laughing. I have changed jobs in the past to preserve my ability to wear hats. The human resources department in my last work setting wrote their dress code policy in such a way that allowed my headwear habit to continue. I do have my priorities!

  15. I absolutely agree. I was really into doing funky designs for a long time… then when I got my internship, I switched to more conservative colors and more sophisticated patterns.

  18. I’m slightly jealous that you can wear any mani you want — then again, if I had the chance to do whatever I wanted with my nails, I’d probably be too lazy to do anything with them. This is such a unique manicure, and it looks spectacular with that ring!