Instagram is an incredibly useful tool if, like me, you occasionally like other people to come up with ideas for you. I’ll sometimes use the “Ask Me Anything” tool on Stories, for instance, to source questions for my Style Shrink column and, let me tell you, it’s extraordinary how many men have burning questions about trouser hems. Likewise, if I’m reviewing a grooming product, say, or a pair of shoes, I’ll sometimes use the “Poll” tool to take a kind of makeshift census of the public mood to help me write a more balanced piece.

Case in point: my recent trial of Chanel’s new line of nail varnishes for men. Hot on the heels of the Parisian label’s release of its Boy De Chanel make-up – housed in traditionally “masculine” midnight-blue packaging – this new launch consists of two polishes (one matte black, the other clear), both of which have been designed to afford the big blokey talons that’ll sport them a certain new lustre.

Naturally, I tested the black one first. Clumsily applying strokes at my desk, I did just one hand first, electing, somewhat wimpily, to display my efforts to the digital world before the IRL one.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the comments I received via the aforementioned Instagram poll were as wide ranging as my aim with the brush. My fashion friends erred on the positive side. One responded, “One hundred per cent, but only on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings,” while another said, “Fab!” Others, however, were not so kind. My 21-year-old niece told me in no uncertain terms my nails were “for the bin”, while @cotts27 said, “I think you need to take time to reflect on whether you should’ve even posted this.”

The truth was, however, that regardless of what my online friends (and frenemy @cotts27) said, I felt kind of avant garde and a bit “alt” sporting my black nail varnish. To me, it was as if by not only wearing, but by also applying the polish in GQ HQ, perhaps the blokiest segment of the Vogue House mother ship outside of the post room, I was breaking down one of the final societal barriers designed to keep me in my self-care-averse box.

Wearing polish, I felt liberated from the shackles of my own misplaced machismo

Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m not the first man to wear polish. Jonathan Heaf, GQ’s mettlesome Chief Content Officer, regularly wears a painted nail or two, while countless men from both the queer and straight communities (from Adam Lambert to Brad Pitt) often sport a varnished nail or ten. YouTube star Joey Graceffa dedicated a video to the subject, entitled “Boys Get Nails Painted!”, which has accrued almost a million views, while K-pop star Sehun was recently pictured on the cover of SuperElle wearing nail art. In short, men wearing nail varnish is nothing new – it’s just that by doing it myself for the first time, in this, my 33rd year, I felt emancipated somehow, liberated from the shackles of my own misplaced machismo.

In real life the responses to my clumsily painted nails were equally mixed. In the office, Associate Editor Stuart McGurk raised his eyebrows, while Senior Commissioning Editor Charlie Burton suggested that I would probably have been better painting a few nails rather than an entire hand (a point I’m inclined to agree with). Elsewhere, at a press event for a luxury brand, the PR (a friend) looked at my hand, laughed and said, “Not on you. It throws me a bit,” while her boss concurred, “I think you’re more elegant [read: boring] than that.”

Ultimately, however, after removing polish from two nails and letting the remaining three bed in for a day or two, I decided that I did, in fact, like my new look. There’s something inherently edgy about painted nails on a man, particularly when worn with a suit (as is my regular wont) and after they start to chip a bit (à la Kurt Cobain). What’s more, the ability to express myself with something other than clothes, shoes or the occasional flash of a watch felt exciting and fresh – a brave new land of sartorial opportunity waiting to be discovered.

“We have seen a marked change in men’s attitude toward make-up in the past few years,” says Melissa McGinnis, head of beauty buying at Selfridges. “Customers are starting to experiment with beauty outside the traditional realm of fragrance and skincare. When we launched our Designer Street Room on the menswear floor in 2018, we unveiled a brand-new make-up counter... This space has continued to prove popular as it gives customers the opportunity to experiment, ask questions and educate themselves. Men wearing nail varnish is definitely a big trend for 2020, with Harry Styles and A$AP Rocky leading the way. We are currently looking to incorporate nail varnish into our men’s make-up edit. Watch this space.”

Though Chanel’s line of men’s nail varnish is currently limited to two colours, my hope is that the range will be broadened and I can try out a vampy red or a glossy hot pink with a detailed French tip. Failing that, I could just dip into Chanel’s female range of nail polishes, because, well, now I’ve gone black, what’s the point in going back?

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