The Statement Nail

The statement nail - one nail that is accented with a different color, more intricacy, or more bling than the other ones - has been trendy for a while now. So much so that some folks have already moved on to the statement toenail. At the moment I'm wearing a very old school, classic, and classy red on my toes, so my "statements" have been confined to my ten upper digits.

Is there a right or wrong finger to pick as your statement? I am really curious what others' thoughts on this are. I have chosen to make all different nails stand out, and here's what I think:

Thumb - Good, but only as a sort of side-kick statement. Having all nine (or eight) other nails one way and one or both of the thumbs a different way might make it look like you forgot about them while you were painting your nails and not like you made a conscious choice for them to stand out. Thumbs already stand out. It's part of what makes us human.

Pointer finger - Bottom of the barrel in terms of a statement choice. My pointers usually get the most wear, so it's like drawing attention to the most-likely-to-chip nail. Also it sort of subtly feels like you're always pointing things out.

Middle finger - In the past (like, way in the past, think summer camp in the mid-90's) I've had people take a statement middle finger in the wrong way: a veiled f-you to everyone I meet. This is less likely of a reaction for me to get as a friendly thirty-something than it was as an angsty, baby-tee wearing teen, and I've done it this week.

I think statement nails tend to work particularly well when they are tied in with the rest of the manicure, as this solid gold statement on top of a gold-tipped French does.

What do you think, does it still seem like I'm flipping you off? I hope not! :)

Ring finger - The most visually appealing and most obvious choice, especially if you've just gotten engaged or are getting married. I tend to highlight my right ring finger, where I wear a claddagh ring my boyfriend got me and not my ringless wedding-band finger.

Pinky - Can come off a little weird because of how unbalanced it is visually, but I think it's a good weird and not a bad weird like the pointer finger. It's like an M Night Shyamalan movie: with an unexpected twist at the end, but less and less interesting the more often you've seen it.

What are your favorite fingers to make a statement with? Do you think statement nails are professional enough to wear to work? Are there any color schemes that work particularly well together? Let me know what you think!