# Are acrylic nails trashy?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [April 3, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747 "2008-04-03T01:29:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@bubble\_pop\_electric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubble_pop_electric)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/1 "2008-04-03T01:29:06Z")
Can’t decide if this should be in MPSIMS.
Do you associate fake nails with low class? Does it make a difference whether they look like, say, [this](http://thepointespa.com/pics/nails_acrylic.jpg) as opposed to [this](http://www.topnailsspa.com/images/Red%20nails.jpg) or even [this](http://www.nailartgallery.com/tracee/pictures/tracee.nail.art.008.jpg) ?
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/2 "2008-04-03T02:01:41Z")
I don’t know that I’d say trashy, but personally, I don’t like unnaturally long nails, and the fancy designs are not to my taste. Bear in mind, I keep mine cut very short because as a potter, fingernails just get in the way and gather clay.
My personal preference - a natural, short nail - never beyond the fingertip - in a subtle shade, or just glossy. Of course, I’m pretty much an old grouch, so I don’t much like them flashy claws some girls sport. I figure they’re a way to make some kind of statement, and to me, that statement is some people have a lot of time on their hands. Take that any way you wish. 😃
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### Author:  [@NightRabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NightRabbit)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/3 "2008-04-03T02:14:10Z")
The last link doesn’t work for me.
That being said, yes- I’ve rarely met well-to-do women with fake nails. Tacky tacky tacky!
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### Author:  [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/4 "2008-04-03T02:16:34Z")
I don’t think acrylic nails alone can make you look trashy, though I do (probably unfairly) assume that if you can keep your nails looking that good, you’re not much good for anything other than conversation and looking pretty. All the girls I know who _do stuff_– sports, extracurriculars, housework, physical jobs, office work-- can’t maintain nice, long, manicured nails. They are incompatible with prolonged use of one’s hands.
I like the French manicure one, but I’d never get it for myself.
The last link takes me to Google’s front page.
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### Author:  [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/5 "2008-04-03T02:32:58Z")
[QUOTE=NightRabbit]
That being said, yes- I’ve rarely met well-to-do women with fake nails. Tacky tacky tacky!
[/QUOTE]
I wear acrylic nails, and most people on this board would consider me quite well-to-do. I wear them because I was a chronic nail-biter until college, and my nails are paper-thin and they break, chip and peel constantly. Even fully manicuring them _every single day_ (file if needed, buff and polish) couldn’t keep them decent. The only way for me to have ladylike hands is to wear fakes.
They are not long like talons, nor do I wear nail “art.” I have a nice, understated pink and white French manicure. Since I cannot grow my own nails more than a nanometer past the quick, I wear these, and it’s nice to be able to wear my rings and not be afraid of people looking at my hands.
YMMV, of course.
PS- mine look like the nails in the first link.
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### Author:  [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/6 "2008-04-03T02:43:37Z")
Trashy is too much and flashy. Six inch heels, skirt cut up to the navel, boobs hoisted up to the chin, and very long glitter nails.
Acrylic nails (and nail salons) tend to be more a working class thing. People have different views of what’s attractive. I do my acrylics for me 'cause I love them and don’t give a crap what anyone thinks about them. Even though I’m a fairly well-off, solidly professional engineer from a family of lawyers and engineers.
[QUOTE=AudreyK]
I don’t think acrylic nails alone can make you look trashy, though I do (probably unfairly) assume that if you can keep your nails looking that good, you’re not much good for anything other than conversation and looking pretty. All the girls I know who _do stuff_– sports, extracurriculars, housework, physical jobs, office work-- can’t maintain nice, long, manicured nails. They are incompatible with prolonged use of one’s hands.
[/QUOTE]
See, that’s the beauty of acrylics: they’re really, really sturdy. I do all those things: type, housework, compete nationally in a [sport](http://www.sport-graphics.com/view_user_photo.asp?PID=&EVENTID=8191&PWD=&ID=13353594&FROM=browser&START=1&SHOW=36&CAT=41045&SUB=0), maintain my car, yard work and small carpentry jobs and have fabulous nails.
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### Author:  [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/7 "2008-04-03T02:51:24Z")
Oh yeah- the “do stuff” part. I run an office and run a household, play volleyball, chase my kids (!), surf, scuba dive, knit & crochet, craft, hike. My nails don’t get in the way, nor are they fragile.
And **tremorviolet** - awesome sport, mama! You rock! 🆒
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/8 "2008-04-03T03:23:25Z")
I wouldn’t say trashy, but definitely look as artificial as they are, even the ones that are supposed to look natural. Their artificialness is more noticeable than most hair dyes, but less than breast implants. I can’t see myself longing for any of the three, but I don’t think any of them will _necessarily_ end up making the owner look trashy.
Thinking about finger nails, though, I never polish mine. Not because I dislike how that looks (I do polish my toenails during sandal season), but because they’re _more fragile_ painted than not. Even when painted with supposed strengthening polishes, they break far more easily than if they’re unpolished. And I don’t keep mine very short, either. Breakage is the most common reason for fake nails, isn’t it? I’ve been asked if I had a French manicure before, and had to say no, just a nail brush 🙂
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### Author:  [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/9 "2008-04-03T03:32:10Z")
I definitely think they’re more associated with working class women. I’ve rarely seen them on women with white collar jobs.
I keep the nails short on my left hand and long on my right because I like to plink on the guitar as a hobby. I do take the trouble to keep them polished and the cuticles trimmed, but I rarely paint them. Can’t be bothered.
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### Author:  [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/10 "2008-04-03T03:32:30Z")
The first and second links are classy and sexy IMHO.
I prefer solid colors mostly. Once the nail art/glued on items get too cute or intricate, it seems like something is cultivating on their fingertips.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/11 "2008-04-03T03:47:49Z")
[These are](http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/flaminghippie/?action=view¤t=DSC02411.jpg) [my nails](http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/flaminghippie/?action=view¤t=DSC02410.jpg), about halfway between freshly done and time for a fill-in. They’re in need of a new topcoat, so they’re not very shiny, and the polish is wearing off at the edges a little bit because I type so much. There’s no artificial tip anymore, just gel overlay on my natural nails. They’re not acrylic, but gel, which is a little more expensive, but also clearer, thinner and shiny all on its own, so you can wear no nail polish and they don’t look fuzzy and translucent like acrylic, but like clear nail polish. You can also use regular nail polish remover or straight up acetone on them and they don’t dull or melt, which is nice.
In the past, I had acrylic nails, but I’m glad I let my new nail guy talk me into gels. Obviously, I don’t think they look trashy, but I do think longer nails and “nail art” look trashy. There’s a lot of trashy at my nail salon in Uptown!
(_snerk_ - I just realized I was holding that pen upside down for the second picture! I just wanted to get an “action shot” of how my hands usually look, not a static spread eagle shot.)
(It’s a lot harder to get a good picture of your own hand than you probably think!)
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### Author:  [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/12 "2008-04-03T03:51:18Z")
I like your nails, **WhyNot**!
When I was in college I got a lot of fancy stuff on my nails (though never acrylics) but it grew old after a while. The most I’ll get nowadays is a simple design on my big toe when I get a pedicure. I like French manicures, but they never last long for me.
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### Author:  [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/13 "2008-04-03T03:53:39Z")
Very nice nails indeed, **WhyNot**! Thanks for sharing. Any other dopers wanna share?
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### Author:  [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/14 "2008-04-03T03:57:14Z")
I have very thin, fragile nails that I continually bite or break. I’d love to have natural acrylic nails but not those talons in link 2 or 3.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/15 "2008-04-03T03:59:55Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee]
I like your nails, **WhyNot**!
[/QUOTE]
Thanks! I get them done right down the street from you, actually, before class. Like I said, a lot of their work is trashy on request, but I think they’re actually relieved sometimes to do something as boring as my nails! Most people are surprised to find out I have “fake nails” at all. My husband likes them because he loves backscratches, but they do mean my days as a massage therapist are officially over!
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### Author:  [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/16 "2008-04-03T04:02:19Z")
I used to get acrylics but I haven’t had them on in a couple years. Mine were like **WhyNot** ’s and I’d either have a French manicure or a very light, iridescent pink on them. I kind of miss 'em.
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### Author:  [@NightRabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NightRabbit)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/17 "2008-04-03T07:03:14Z")
Eh, I think even french manicures look tacky. Why the need to always have color on your nails, or multiple colors on your nails? I always think it looks fussy and overcalculated, like when women wear a lot of jewelry all at once.
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### Author:  [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/18 "2008-04-03T08:38:46Z")
If they look like fake nails, they look trashy.
Note that I don’t think there’s anything wrong with looking trashy if that’s how you want to look.
But I have never ever understood the appeal of a French manicure. It just looks like the natural nail, except fake. 😕
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### Author:  [@Solfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Solfy)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/19 "2008-04-03T14:27:37Z")
What about long natural nails?
My mother is a professional (in IT) and her nails are typically up to 1/2" past the tips and completely natural. She’s got nails of steel that she keeps up with buffing/polishing. People have assumed they were fake on more than one occasion. She’s had these all her life, including the 15 years she was a SAHM doing more physical work like washing windows, yard work, and refinishing woodwork. (though the woodworking usually did a number on them)
I inherited the super nails and could grow mine out to “fake” lengths easily. I don’t, because I play piano and I work in a laboratory. Long nails clicking on keyboards (piano or computer) drive me batty, and they’re a nuissance under gloves.
I think natural looking (not 2" long with glitter) long nails (either real or acrylic/gel) are pretty, but impractical. The only time I wish I had grown mine out is for dressy occasions, and those happen a few times a year at most.
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### Author:  [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-acrylic-nails-trashy/443747/20 "2008-04-03T15:40:36Z")
I associate acrylic nails with working-class, but not necessarily with trashy. It also seems that there are plenty of well-off women from working-class backgrounds who who have acrylics. (Carmela Soprano, though obviously fictional, comes to mind.) Most professional women that I know have fairly short nails, even if they keep them polished and manicured.
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