[ nail polish ad from 1945. ]
I was flipping through one of my 1940s magazines when I noticed an ad for “Chen Yu” nail polish. Now I don’t know about you, but when I think about the 1930s through 50s, red is the color I associate with nail polish. I tend to shy away from many of my more outre colors that I have stashed away in my box of polishes when wearing my distinctly 40s outfits because I always thought it seemed a bit out of character for the outfit. So I was utterly delighted that not only did the ad show colors that we don’t normally associate with the 40s, but color samples too! How about bright yellow (“Ming Yellow”), cotton candy pink (“Sea Shell”) and even black (“Black Lustre”)?! Talk about a world of possibilities for some fun… (You could also get matching lipstick for some of the shades too!)
This little fashion revelation came on the heels of going through some old snapshots I had saved over the years of average people going about their daily lives. Just looking at the images, expressions, clothing, and poses made me just all the more aware that even though there was more of a pressure to conform in previous eras, there were (and will always be) the distinctive personalities. While most women may have veered more towards the conventional shades of red for their nail polish, I like to think that some woman out there was a bit theatrical and liked to sport colors on her nails that weren’t the norm. We tend to so often just group people together when looking back at history, and expect they had more of the “conform mentality” than we do in the 21st century. But it’s amazing when you start to peel back the layers and go beyond the history books, how many variations there were (just like today–on a smaller scale though!).
After I saw this article, I went and dug up my dark blue nail polish (MAC’s “Blue India”); with a bit more determination to do something a little “vintage unconventional” myself. (On the topic of unusual nail colors from previous eras, you might enjoy this post by The Vintage Baroness.) However, I think black shall be the one color I don’t try. I went through my black nail polish phase a few years ago, and it really is a ghastly color on my nails! lol.
Are you more adventuresome when it comes to nail polish colors? Or do you not bother with it at all?
Thank you for posting this! I already knew colors like blue and green were worn, but I never saw a picture of it.
Wow, this is fascinating. I too had heard that blue and green and yellow were popular, but now we have concrete ocular proof
Interesting points about beauty, conformity, self expression, as well. Final note: my sister in law tried a black and white french manicure and it looked absolutely hideous in my opinion. Her nails looked dead and hallowe’enish. Not my cup of tea! I’d be open to trying all black with a vamp-ish 20s flapper look, but really not something I would tend to gravitate towards on a regular basis.
That page is fantastic! I had no idea that they wore such shades in those days.
I’m surprised to see the yellow, green, blue and black in that vintage ad! Wow, who knew our grandmothers were so outre?
I don’t put polish on my fingernails; since we have a pottery studio, my hands are constantly getting trashed. I’d have to do my fingernails every day! But I do polish my toenails. I used to sell footwear and wouldn’t dream of stepping out onto the selling floor during sandal season without toenail polish.
I tend to think about what color will work best with the sandals I’m wearing. I have a few pairs of sandals in the red-orange range. I’m hoping to branch out with some new sandal colors this summer! I doubt I’ll do blue, green, yellow or black though…not my style.
i’ve loved colored polishes since seeing Cabaret when I was 13! I do stick to creme polishes as a rule and love blues, greens, reds and even black
right now i’m sporting a great purple by OPI from their Shrek collection.
Very interesting read! I also do that, tend to think of the typichally 40s style as the only 40s style. In theory I know thay dressed with a great deal more diversity than that, but when choosing my own outfit… This was a great reminder!
I tend to not wear nailpolish, as I have very poor nails that breaks into little pieces as soon as they are longer than 1-2 milimeters (seriously). But I find long nails gorgeous on others!
The ads are fascinating. I guess I just thought they all wore red.
When I wear polish its usually pretty tame colors. I was too old for the black phase:) and have never liked reds on me. On other people they look great. We did wear “sugar Pink” by Avon when I was a teen and would make polka dots and stripes with white.
My little granddaughter is nail polish adventurous. She has yellow on right now. She’s had her toe nails and nails polished since she was a baby:) It’s fun watching her develop her “style”.
Wonder what happened to that company?
How fascinating! Blue! Turquoise! I had no idea — thanks so much for sharing. I go through phases wear I sport polish, but generally I find myself too lazy to do it. I do like how it looks, though!
I love this post. And I agree with what you say about diversity. We do tend to lump certain eras with certain looks, but the people who lived through them had quirks and individual style just like anyone today. I never thought of nail polish being part of that though, but I’m not super-big on it myself.
Great ads! I can’t imagine wearing yellow nail polish, but that top ad makes me want to try it.
What a great post, I love the idea of all the possibilities that can go with a 40s outfit! I’d read that they did use some more unusual shades, but it’s great to have visual proof. I tend to stick with reds and pinks, but now I am dying to try some yellow!
Wow, this was neat information. I assumed the same thing that red was the trendy color, but I am amazed at the range of colors womem were wearing back then.
I confess I’m slightly disappointed that they didn’t have matching blue, green, black, and yellow lipstick!
Just kidding. Sort of. Thanks for posting this, though, since some of us can’t wear the classic “Revlon Red” lipstick (helloooo olive-toned skin!).
What! I had no idea anybody was wearing any of the wild colors back then!
I pretty much stick to reds, pinks, and dark purple. Sometimes I’ll do a light nude on my fingers, but only if I’m feeling really tan. Otherwise I just look like I have some horrible disease.
Fun! My grandma actually told me that back in the 40s she used to wear teal and blue nailpolish… good to see she wasn’t just pulling my leg! I love nailpolish, and I tend to wear whatever I like, even with vintage dresses. I wear a lot of the “nearly black” colors that were popular last year… it’s dramatic, but not so harsh as straight black.
I personally don’t wear polish on my fingernails, because I tend to ruin it so quickly, but toenails are always polished in the summer! Lately I’ve actually been wearing black polish on my toes. I think it looks pretty sharp with my black wedge sandals.
Great, great ad! You’re right, I have never seen vintage polish (ad or otherwise) in anything but reds or pinks. I tend to use wilder colors on my toes (blues, greens) and I’m more tame on my fingers, ha! But I’ve been known to rock the dark navy or black on occasion!
That’s funny, I never knew that they had colors like yellow then. I guess that shows that everything eventually comes back in-style.
Wow! That’s amazing you found that ad and picked up on the colours!
Nice to see these – thanks for posting!
I am so glad they didn’t produce matching lipstick for the yellow, black, cobalt and teal!
I loved my Chanel ‘Galaxy’ – it was a gorgeous midnight blue – quite futuristic but also quite vintage (if that’s possible!)
I’m so grateful for stumbling upon this. If you haven’t already gotten your graduate degree/written a thesis/dissertation, this would be perfect. Wish I’d thought of it!
My grandmother always wore a different shade of nail color everyday, even well into her 70′s! It was never that unusual for me to see anything but red nails. Interesting find though.
I had stumbled across a colour chart like this one a while ago while trawling the web and I was surprised too!
I always thought of more red’s and deep pinks in assocition with the forties but upon more research , apprently it was fashionable to match your nail colour to your dress, hence the unexpected shades.
I quite like a fun shade for nails to add a pop of colour, I’m wearing a metallic purple shade right now.
Great post Casey!
I only have two reds in my nail polish collecton – the rest are outlandish colours like greens, oranges, blues and glitters! I’m currently wearing a gorgeous dusty aqua the exact shade of tiffany blue – gorgeous.
I sometimes feel like bright nails stand out against a vintage outfit, but if you work in other accessories in the same colour, or if the pattern on your dress contains hints of the colour you want to wear on your nails they tend to clash less. Regardless, life is too short to only wear one colour nail!
(Also, I am so jealous that you have a bottle of blue india. That is a freaking amazing colour – wish I had money to drop on a bottle for the ridic prices MAC is asking here!)
I tagged you!
Erin
The purple lipstick!!
Wouldn’t it be interesting to see a 1940s flick colorized, and all the dames are wearing blue or seafoam green lipstick? That seems like something they would’ve worn if they could’ve mastered it, haha.
This is great! I read something a while ago that mentioned other colours in the 40s but I couldn’t picture it either. I stick to red. I think it makes my skin look more pale ;] Plus, I only ever really wear red lipstick and I like it to match. Hehe.
-Andi x
I’ve had the same thoughts about nailpolishes and gone all red the last years from having used an amount of different kind of colous. I still have one darkblue left of the other colours, maybe I should try it again.. But I think Iäll leave the darkblue lipstick
gosh, thank you for posting that link to the Vintage Baroness – i’ve been trying to find that 1930s make-up site FOREVER! (i stumbled upon it years ago and couldn’t find it again.)
i like the way nail polish looks on other women but i’m not very tidy when i apply it plus i always chip the next day. i do like to use color on my toes but i tend to stick to nudes and pinks – i’ve got several bottles of varying shades of the same color.
Wowsers! That Chen Yu advertisement is great! Usually, I only paint my toenails with colored polish, as I ruin a manicure almost immediately. I’ve been using the same four colors forever: orangey-red, dark red, bubblegum pink…and black. After seeing this add, I might add bright yellow and dark blue!
Wowsers! That Chen Yu advertisement is great! Usually, I only paint my toenails with colored polish, as I ruin a manicure almost immediately. I’ve been using the same four colors forever: orangey-red, dark red, bubblegum pink…and black. After seeing this post, I might add bright yellow and dark blue!
How funny! I just posted a 1940′s nail color ad on my Facebook page a few days ago! I was happy to see yellow and teal on it. I usually wear red but after finding that ad I painted my nails a robin’s egg blue yesterday! I love nail polish.
All I could think of while reading this was in Cabaret, when Liza (with a “Z”) has her nails painted that stunning emerald green. What does she call them? Divine decadence, I think?
I’m glad you posted this about the nail polish. I didn’t know about that. We really do only think of red, but that was done only to show Patriotism. Man, we should adopt patriotism again.
I appreciate your posts on magazine scans and old photos. It’s nice to learn the good things from past eras.
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