Lacquer Up: Negative Nails

I have seen a lot of negative nails in the blogosphere of late.

Merricures       One Nail To Rule Them All    Nail That Accent

So I thought, for this lacquer up I would do my best, easy interpretation of a negative nail for you all to try. 

I have done a simple, diagonal negative nail on my first try as I haven't the steadiest of hands. 

In order to make sure the line is clean, I have used surgical tape to ensure a straight line.

Surgical tape is my new, best nail art friend. It's cheap and easy to use and can be cut and shaped with a pair of manicure scissors incredibly easily. Just like the manicure strips that I have written about before if you are wearing another colour underneath make sure the polish is bone dry before applying the tape. You will ruin your under polish otherwise. If you have time, put your base colour on the day before for the best results.

I applied my base coat and allowed to dry before adding the tape in the direction I wanted it to go. Once I was happy with it I applied my first layer of polish. 

I left to dry and applied another coat. Here I am using Ciaté's Mink, this needs a couple if layers for the colour to really shine through. 

This is now a discontinued colour, a similar colour that will work work their range is Cream Soda. 

Leave to dry completely. If not you'll end up with a jagged line, like one of my failed attempts 

Once dry, peel the tape of and apply a quick topcoat. I have added a couple of metal nail art hearts that I found on Amazon. I bought these to add interest to my manicure because it is a bank holiday carnival weekend and I have gone a little nail appliqué crazy since my last post; it's a simple and fun and easy addition to nails that require minimum effort. 

I completed with a more thorough layer of a high shine topcoat.

It's super easy and I will definitely persevere with it. I like how modern this looks, this can be formalised for a job interview; the colour above works well for that (above sans appliqué hearts obviously) or you could make it fun by slicking on a neon colour like Model's Own Toxic Apple. All winners in my opinion.

Go on, bag yourself some surgical tape and get negative!

Sartorial Spotlight: Nomcore

Something I had noticed from the latest round fashion weeks has been the emergence of an anti-trend that seems to be taking over the sartorial spectrum. 

This all stemmed from an interesting and insightful article from Vogue that ended up confirming an aesthetic I had already subscribed to without realising. Fans of my Tumblr page are well aware of this ideal; Clean, androgynous lines, in neutral colours, most notably healthy variations of beige, grey. black and cream. But what does this all mean?

The urban dictionary definition of Nomcore states that "A subculture based on conscious, artificial adoption of things that are in widespread use, proven to be acceptable, or otherwise inoffensive. Ultra-conformists"

This is, in essence the embodiment of anti-fashion, so why has this become a trend? Why am I and others seeing this on countless blogs, street style websites and magazines? This could be for one simple reason, people adore fashion, follow fashion and aspire to own fashion. But life often gets in the way. Sometimes it is not possible to wear Louboutin's on the tube, or to go full 'haute' for lunch. Nomcore has come to the forefront, purely because it is a stylisation of our off duty selves. 

I speak from personal experience; working in the field that I am very lucky to do I often find myself, day after day wearing a uniform of your own making that is comfortable and fit for purpose. Throughout the course of a working day you could be anywhere from rummaging in sample cupboards and travelling across London, meeting with clients or presenting figures and trends to members of your team. While a 'uniform' is a loose interpretation of Nomcore, it is the most plausible one. You always want to look great and trend led at work (well, I do at least) and you want to be comfortable and able to run from pillar to post to get your job done. 

In order to do this, you find that you revert to the same variation of comfortable, fit for purpose clothing. 

The official interpretation of the Nomcore wardrobe, taken from William Gibson's Pattern
Recognition is as follows:

"A small boy's black Fruit of the Loom T-shirt, a thin gray (sic) V-neck pullover purchased by the half-dozen from a supplier to the New England prep schools, and a new and oversized pair of black 501's, every trademark carefully removed."

This is not, as buzzfeed and others suggest regression to wearing over-sized Dad shirts and
Seinfeld trainers. There is a reason this look is seen best on Freja Beha Erichsen and Erin Wasson off duty.

                                   

This is a look that transitions from day to night easily, because it the the essence of versatility. You can give this a try for the spring by wearing some easy plimsolls and a light jacket. Continue into Autumn/Winter with a pea coat and a pair of brogues, while wrapping up warm with an over-sized knitted scarf. 

It's easy to make your own, the beauty of the trend (or an evolution of it) is to add accessories. You can have your staple of jeans, t-shirt/shirt jumper or cardigan in variations of beige, grey. navy and cream (which is currently 70% of my wardrobe) but if the idea of blending in gives you the shivers add an interesting cluster of bracelets, wear your hair up in a scarf, have a large (functional, of course) brightly coloured handbag. 

Nomcore is the perfect canvas for your own creativity. It's easy, it's comfortable and it's definitely here to stay. I am definitely going to attack the last 30% of my wardrobe, I think Black is on the cards next!

Have a look at my Nomcore style ideas below:

Coat, Hobbs                            Kimono, Nomia Mesh                Sweater, Zadig & Voltare

Tunic, Stella McCartney             Jeans, Topshop                           Skirt, Markus Lupfer  

Jeans, Paige Denim                Tunic Dress, Shania Mote              Cardigan, MICHALSKY

Plimsolls, Toms                      Slip-Ons, Vince Preston                    Brogues, Handsom