Jumping on the bandwagon or Seriously late to the party?

Or both? This article comes out of my hometown of Cleveland. While I laughed at Allure for mentioning Chanel’s Black Satin way after it was sold out and fetching ridiculous prices on ebay, it was still months ahead of this writer. Hey gals, if you don’t know yet, black polish is “in” (insert eyeroll here).

Polishing its image
No longer edgy, this hip nail color is putting stores and users in the black
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Kim Crow Style Editor
The hottest look of fall/winter 2006 is right at your fingertips.

It has nothing to do with skinny jeans or leggings or even the ubiquitous tunic top.

It can be worn by every woman and even men if so inclined — the short, the heavy, the mature, the young — and you won’t break the bank while dipping your toe into the trend.
Black nail polish has managed to transcend its edgy Goth-girl roots to find mainstream success with everyone from celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson to the saleswoman at the corner store.

“Oh, my God, you have no idea how popular black nails are,” laughed Tiffany Ford, owner of Salon Blu in Mayfield. “Women of all ages are wearing it. I’m pretty much ordering a box of it a week, we’re going through it so fast. I’m wearing it myself right now.”

“At first, I thought it was kind of gruesome,” said Jean Rini of Cleveland, who graciously agreed to model black polish for a Plain Dealer photo shoot. “But it’s really growing on me. It looks sophisticated.”

The look first cropped up during New York Fashion Week’s fall shows in February, but reached critical mass when Chanel launched its “Black Satin” polish in spring. The limited-edition polish quickly sold out, though fans could find it on eBay, at prices up to $75 and more. It retailed for $18.

” Black Satin’ was a huge success,” said Julie Malizia, cosmetics manager at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beachwood. “It was sold out before we even got it in. Hundreds of people were asking for it. If we had gotten 1,000 bottles in, we could have sold 1,000 bottles.”

But our local Saks had only roughly 70 bottles to sell, in a well-crafted, oft-used ploy by Chanel to create demand through limiting inventory.

And thus, people resorted to knockoffs, versions of the black polish that companies such as OPI, Sally Hansen and Essie were eager to supply, and at prices much more palatable than Chanel’s $18, not to mention much easier to find.

“You can’t really tell the difference between the colors once they’ve dried,” said Bea Coseski, a nail technician at Spa Ostara in Westlake, who applied the five different shades used in the PD photo shoot. “But some people just like the name.”

Regardless of brand allure or simple street chic, black looks as though it will be back for quite some time.

“Dark, short nails are what is in fashion through at least spring,” said Malizia. “Chanel has replaced Black Satin’ with Black Ceramic,’ which has sparkles in it. It sold out as soon as it came in, of course, but we will get more of it.”

Original Plain Dealer article

Oh and for those of you that missed out on Chanel Black Satin and don’t want to settle for it’s wicked stepsister, Noir Ceramic, pick up Zoya Raven. Only $5.50 and pregnancy safe for all you hip mommies-to-be.