Fanatic Feedback – Matching Nail Colors to Clothes?
With Easter coming up this weekend, I started thinking about what I’ll wear to dinner with the folks on Sunday and, of course, what nail polish to choose. I was surfing the web as I was pondering when I happened upon the pic below of Emmy Rossum and Zach Braff at “The Darker Side of Green” Debate and I couldn’t help but notice Emmy’s scarlet dress and matching nails. It got me thinking about the whole matchy-matchy thing.
Typically, if I plan my outfit, I tend to wear polish colors to compliment, not match, though most days I’m running around with something that just plain clashes. I’ve noticed that a lot of celebs tend to go neutral or play the matching game and even in my area I see a lot of nude, French or matching nails. So am I alone in my ways?
What about you? When you plan out an ensemble do you tend to choose a nail color that matches or coordinates with your outfit? Or do you go the nude/sheer route?
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
If I’m going to a wedding or have a special event I’ll pick a color that GOES with my attire – not matches like that red dress/red polish above. But otherwise I pick the color I want and just let it ride for the week, and yes, sometimes it clashes, but most of the time I find it tends to go rather nicely. Maybe that’s because I wear a lot of the same general tones in both my clothing and nail polish!
I’m exactly the same way as you! If it’s something special, my nails will compliment the outfit. It’s a rare thing indeed if they actually “match.” Most of the time,I just wear whatever color I want, and if my outfit compliments, than it’s an extra bonus. Today, I’m wearing Nubar Fiery Red and I’m in love!
If I do plan my outfits, I make sure the polish compliments yet contrasts the clothes. If I’m wearing black, I want to wear a colorful glitter. Other times though, I feel like wearing a certain polish and then happen to wear a totally different outfit.
I am a matchy girl. If I am going somewhere, I always try to match or at least compliment the outfit I am wearing. I even have my 3 year old daughter in matching nails and toes now too. She loves it.
If it’s a special occasion (i.e., one that warrants having thought about my outfit a bit ahead of time), I’ll often try to coordinate or match… or at least just not clash. On most days I just wear whatever color(s) I’m in the mood for, though. :0)
I usually aim for a complementary or coordinating colour, but I admit when it comes to red it’s a whole other ball of wax. I have a lot of vivid red clothing, and a lot of vivid red nail polishes, and I love both to bits, so sometimes I will go matchy-moo.
I put nail polish on that matches my mood or something that will make me feel better (bright colors tend to do it) sometimes on very rare days I will put a safe color on if I’m going to a family party or what…but most of the time it will go with my mood…never an outfit…
I like Emmy’s matching nails and dress. I am planning to wear a pink sweater and the new Borghese Tutti Gelati on Sunday. I like to match my nails to my outfit, but not all the time. Sometimes it’s too much!
I normally just clash. But I noticed yesterday that my OPI Meet Me at the Star Ferry exactly matched the purple highlights in my new brown, green, cream and purple shirt. That’s about as matchy as I want to get.
I tend to try to do nails that “go with” my clothes, not match them. And I NEVER have matching tips and toes…that’s a YIKES for me!
I have been known to match my polish to what i’m wearing. Even if it’s just to a hair accessory or hand bag. I never ever wear sheers or french manicures.
i never match my polish to my clothes ..i prefer to let my nails stand out & clash =D ..but if its a formal event, i go with mannequin hands or a french =)
Personally, most of the time I’m wearing shades that go with pretty much everything: dark purple, deep berries, very light pinks, etc. When it comes to specific outfits, I’d rather compliment than match – for a brown cocktail dress, I’d rather go nude with deep berry tips or something similar.
Then again, I’m wearing Sally Hansen’s Brisk Blue right now, which goes with absolutely nothing and is still completely awesome, albeit completely out of my comfort zone.
I usually try to go with rather than match, too. But I do match on occasion, mostly when I’m already wearing a nail color that I don’t have time to change and want clothes that don’t clash. I have slight OCD tendencies and if my fingers really clash with my clothing, it bugs the crap out of me (I usually don’t care about my toes, though!), so I’d rather match than clash. (But “clash” is subjective – classic bright red goes with anything as long as it’s not in the bright pink family; browns go with anything that isn’t black or gray – I wear a lot of black and a lot of brown but almost never together, so if I do something brown on my nails I know I need to wear brown-based clothes for the next few days; taupe/greige is great because it goes with both black and brown and pretty much everything else; oddly, for me, bright purple clashes with almost everything – it’s the one nail color I never wear.)
The exception is during final exams (I’m in law school). I tend to wear all sorts of crazy clashing colors – anything to make me feel more cheerful! (It’s the only time I wear glitter, for instance.)
Usually my polish either matches or complements my outfit on Mondays, because I had time to plan on Sunday. It will match again on Friday, because I usually re-do my nails on Thursday nights. The rest of the week, I don’t even think about how my polish looks with my clothes.
And my toenails are my chance to do GLITTER by the ton, so they rarely match anything.
I never match! my wardrobe tends to be pretty neutral while my nails are usually bright… pink, coral, orange… if I’m going to a wedding or other event I always wear my go to light pink, OPI Got A Date ToKnight.. that color goes everywhere with anything!
I only really coordinate/match my mani/pedi colors on purpose if I’m going to an event or if it’s for an occasion. But for everyday I wear whatever clothes with whatever colors (although I do try to pick out clothes that don’t clash too badly.)
I really hate the matchy look, and never match myself.
On a day to day basis, I find it’s easier to pick a nail color for the week and coordinate my outfits with my polish. It’s a lot easier to change a sweater than a mani. But I don’t “match”, even on special occasions. I think red is the one instance where matching is kind of okay, otherwise it looks like prom all over again. My tips and toes do always match, though. I’ved TRIED to mix it up, but I feel like Punky Brewster when my mani and pedi don’t match.
I do plan them to go together — I think mostly about tones. I wear softer tones together, not necessarily pink and pink, but maybe an outfit with a lot of pink and nails that are soft blue or silver, or an outfit with earthtones with brown or olive nails. I will wear nails to exactly match a color in an outfit with a print, but I don’t think of that as matchy-matchy, just a way of accenting and bringing the color out.
And sometimes I plan the outfit to go with the nails — for St. Patrick’s Day, I wore China Glaze Paper Chase with a black cord outfit a with green and blue plaid scarf at the waist.
I never really match my nails…if they clash I don’t care, much to my mum’s annoyance :p
I do think about my nails if I am going out to a big party or wedding etc, but for every day wear I never match.
Between work and kids I have to admit I keep things simple usually the nude/manequin hands type colors. My hunsband has commented that all of my nail polish colors look the same to him. Pedicure is where I branch out a bit wiht bolder colors.
I am the opposite. I tend to wear neutral clothes but when it comes to nail polish I choose bold colours. I normally wear black, white or grey clothes so my polish doesn’t clash or match. I will be coordinating my nail polish on prom night though!
98% of the time I’m not trying to match or complement. I paint my nails according to my mood, and since I don’t change it daily, then every day that I change my clothes, it’s usually clashing with my nails.
The most I’ve come to purposely complementing (not a fan of matching) is to wear mostly black and then wear eye-popping on my fingertips.
Right now I’m wearing Lippman’s Happy Birthday over Essie’s Mademoiselle. Yep, I wear this stuff to my office.
Totally depends. I remember in one of your “what’s on your nails?” articles someone saying that they hated when they saw people’s nail polish match their outfits. I immediately thought, it’s bound to happen on some days! Unless you change your polish everyday, how can you not match sometimes? I definitely always coordinate when I have an event to go to. I don’t usually try to match, but I’m not opposed to it. In fact, this photo of Emmy Rossum is a perfect example of matching working. I think she looks great!
If I have an event coming up, I may like to match or compliment, but typically, I just choose colors that I want to wear and they tend to compliment my outfits anyways. Right now, I have Sally Hansens opulent cloud on my fingers. It’s nit at all neutral but compliments absolutely everything. And on my toes – opi’s jade is the new black. It’s fun but also kind of a subdued green so if has yet to clash
Never match outfit and polish. I’m not a matchy kind of gal. I usually go for contrast: if I wear something bright yellow, I’ll go for violet or emerald green or blue or bright pink. Otherwise I combine “temperatures”, if that makes sense (say, dusty pink with dusty camouflage green and so on). If my outfit/makeup is not too complicated and doesn’t have too many colours already, I always have a double mani (two different polishes, one per hand). I’ve always done that and I love it very much.
I only match if its something important, like a fancy dinner, etc.
I do the holiday thing Easter= Robin’s egg blue, and pink, etc.
If my fingers ever match clothes, it’s pure chance. I do obsess about my toes not clashing with my sandals (or peeps) so the only toe color I’ve used for about 8 yrs. is St. Lucia Lilac, by Essie. That’s my toe “neutral”. It bothers me if my rings clash with my nails so I plan jewelry more than clothes. When I don’t know when I’ll get time for the next mani, or on a trip, I do a neutral sheer-more forgiving of wear.
i don’t like the matchy-matchy, I tend to choose complimentary colors. I like my nails to stand out (not clash) against my clothing color. and i treat my mani-pedi’s the same way.
i think the sheers are too boring, although i don’t mind neutrals like taupe or chocolate. i love really bright oranges, yellows, purples, pinks, and i love a bright blue or turquoise or chartreuse.
I don’t tend to match my nail varnish to my outfit, I will for a special occasion, but mostly my nail varnish tends to compliment/clash. I would never let them be really badly clashed but I think its cool to have opposite colours to your outfit.
I get a weekly pedi/mani. I choose a color that either represents my mood or an upcomong activity. Therefore, my nail color is what determines my wardrobe. I coordinate mostly, rarely match. I don’t have a favorite nail color. I do each and every color in the rainbow.
For everyday wear, I usually wear whatever color polish I want and don’t care if it matches. For parties, weddings or events I’ll choose a complimentary color of polish rather than a matching polish.
BTW, there’s a full length shot of her from this event on gofugyourself, and it appears that she has bare toes with open toed shoes. Isn’t it a little weird to match your mani to your dress and not put anything at all on your toes when you know they’ll be showing? Even if my tips are bare, there’s always something on my toes.
We’re all so different, I couldn’t imagine wearing the same toenail polish for 8 years. I rarely repeat a color and have only matched tips & toes once or twice. When I do, I feel subversive.
I do like themes,though. Like today I ran out & had OPI hot & spicy (orange) put on for Easter. My toes are OPI Root Beer float – less successful bc it’s a frost, should have used a creme color. Like someone said above, I should have matched the “temperature” or tone.
i match my clothes to my nails… no lie. The nails come first. And I don’t like matchy-match. I prefer coordinating. I’m wearing hot pink today – Hawaiian Punch – and clothes are blue for autism.
I’m keeping my toes some shade of pink all summer, though. I have a friend going through chemo for breast cancer, and it’s my support status!
compliment, sometimes match, never neutral, never clash.
i’m wearing wet and wild morbid which is blackened navy with a teal flash and i’ve mostly worn grey and black this week. i’ll change it tomorrow to that hyper spring green holo glitter by milani because i plan on wearing mostly yellows this weekend and then probably a yellow or purple because i’m going to wear green a lot next week.
I only purposely match or purposely wear complimentary colors for really special occasions. Otherwise, it’s a free for all. Last night I put on Illamasqua Rampage and today I wore a bright pink sweater. It made me think of a strawberry. Doesn’t go together at all, but it still looks great. And I’ve had tons of compliments on both my nails and my sweater.
Day to day, I wear whatever I feel like but on the weekends, I plan my nail polish to compliment my outfit. I am not into the whole matchy-matchy thing. I tend to be more fun such as in March, I tried wearing a different green polish every time I changed my polish. (Obviously, I had enough greens!) So I am with you, that the whole matchy-matchy thing isn’t for me.
If I’ve got a special event on then I often co-ordinate my nails to go with my outfit, though I don’t do the same colour nails with the same colour dress. Otherwise, I just wear whatever. I don’t really own neutrals, so I guess most of the time my outfits and my nails clash.
xx
huh, that NEVER crosses my mind. i just pick whatever nail color i feel like at the time. maybe i should start thinking about that once in a while…
Like Delfina, I go for contrast. Contrast can be complimentary. I only match on accident.
Well, most of the time when I’m painting my nails, I think about what I want to wear the next day and try to coordinate. …And then for each day after that, I coordinate my clothes to what polish I’m wearing, lol Although this does not count work clothes–I’m at Target right now, and I CANNOT deal with only painting my nails things that would go with bright red, lol Way too narrow a field of colors. So whilst I’m at work, I just pretend I’m not clashing.
I’m not a matchy-matchy kind of girl. I don’t think I’ve ever planned to match my nails to an outfit. I choose my polish based on my mood at the time.
Of course I don’t plan outfits unless it’s a special event. Normally I just grab whatever and get out the door.
I almost always go with bright and more often then not kind of clashy for day to day,or I pick outfits that compliment my polish, but if I have to plan things out for a wedding or job interview or some such I usually go with a french tip or soft pink.
I never match my clothes to my mani. For work I wear a lot of black either all black or black with white or grey so I tend to base my nail polish on how I am feeling and the wear a hair accessory or jewelly or shoes to complement it. I love wearing bright bold unsual colours and wearing black means these really stand out and I get loads of comments about the colours I wear. At moment wearing OPI Mad as a hatter but love my greens,teals, blue, pinks, reds oh I love them all.
I like to co-ordinate my polish with my makeup… which means that it seldom “matches” my outfit. That way, there’s some cohesiveness, be it a fun blush, lip colour or eyeshadow hue that ties it together. For special occasions I try and find unique nail colours that I’ve never tried before, so that 5 years down the line, if/when my dress looks dated, at least my nails looked fabulous. The exceptions to the rule are conservative situations, i.e weddings, job interviews, etc. etc. Then it’s the french mani pour moi…. unless I’m feeling rebellious, then red is a girl’s best friend!
I never match. And this week at work a girl mentioned that my fingers and toes didn’t match! I said “that’s the joy of having hands and feet; you get to wear 2 polishes at the same time.” Do a lot of people match their fingers and toes? I just never have.
Also, i never wear sheers or french. I wear a lot of black so my polish is were I show personality.
For a special occasion I tend to chose more of a neutral nail color anyways, otherwise I *know* I would get a huge chip right before the event! For my day-to day life, I don’t really care. I wear light colors/neutrals during the week and dark color on weekends. They usually end up going with everything anyways, but that’s more by chance than anything else. I don’t wear a lot of bright colors so the chances of actually having anything clash is slim. It bothers me more when my pedicure clashes with my shoes in the summer! I also make sure my manicure and pedicure don’t clash. They don’t match, but they don’t clash either.
I think of nail polish as jewels and I want them to stand out or bring attention to something (ie my strappy CL with pink topaz toes). This winter I wore Stormy or Muse, very striking and complemented everything.
I tend to not exactly match my polish to my outfit, but what I will do is choose a shade that is in the same family. For example, I love wearing OPI Yoga-ta Get This Blue with my aqua and teal shirts. It’s nice to wear a darker blue polish with the lighter shade. If it wore Zoya Kotori with the teal shirts that would be too boring for me.
90% of the time I am just wearing a color that I love, no real rhyme or reason… nail polish is an accessory to me and therefore should stand out, BUT if I am going out for a special evening, I will change to a color that compliments my outfit or compliments me…..matchy-matchy is soo 80′s??
I like to match my clothes and nailpolish but most of the time I just try not to wear clashing colors. I have a cardy that’s exactly the same color as OPI’s We’ll always have Paris suede so I match these two all the time. :-))
I usually chose complementary colour of polish for an outfit. I come from a visual art background so it’s really hard for me to do anything all one colour, I guess that feels like cheating! lol
I don’t match my polish to my clothes! The only time that I choose a color like OPI’s Sand in my Suit or Happy Anniversary is when I go on vacation and I can’t change my polish for awhile
I almost always go the matchy, matchy route and I love it! I go neutral, usually OPI Bubble Bath, if my outfit has a lot going on but most of the time I do a super match-up. It’s actually my favourite part of planning an outfit.
I bet there’s a lot of banana yellow, soft purple, mint green and peach nails this weekend for Easter. So happy it’s finally spring!
Does anyone know anything about the OPI Shrek collection that’s supposed to be coming out? Thanks.
I never match my nails to my clothes. I wear what I want whenever, so I guess it usually clashes. I think matching them is kinda lame, even if it is a special occasion. Sure you’re not going to have neon yellow, but if you’re wearing red with purple nails, honestly, who gives a damn.
I never match my nails to my clothes, well not intentionally. I paint my nails whatever color I feel like painting them at the time. Sometimes, they’ll compliment my clothes and most times, they clash. I just don’t have the time to change my nail color more than once or twice a week.
I try to match/compliment my clothes to my nails. it’s a fun challenge sometimes and forces me to make use of different items in my waredrobe
I never match my outfit to my nail polish! It’s a fine look, it’s just not for me. I like to clash I guess!
I also don’t like a neutral nail, I want to wear a color that is bold and shiny!
I don’t see the point of having a lot of polishes if the colour I’m wearing clashes with my outfit. I own nearly 60 different shades of polish from different trademarks. I take your blog and some others as a guide to picture real colour on the nail, and appreciate so much your reviews about quality and application! It’s so wonderful to know what to buy, to be also aware of ingredients and everything! But honestly, even if I take a lot of pleasure at watching the collections swatches, I only buy polishes that “go with” my wardrobe in a certain way. It’s very difficult to “match” exactly, but truth is that If I see It’s going to clash with my polish, I simply choose another outfit. As I read in your blog, manicure is a part of the total look. That’s the way I live it. I’m not fan of a “polish shade” in particular, but of the global effect and the plus it adds to my look. Everyone knows that a good look avoid matchy-matchy things. Polish choice goes for me as the choice of shoes, scarves, purses, jewellery or other accessories I would never go with “matchy” either with “clashy”. Does it make any sense?
I almost *always* match my clothes. People often comment on it, and seem to enjoy it. I have even had people say that they wish they could be as coordinated and “together” and ask how I always seem to be able to do it. I just treat my nails like any other accessorie. LOL
For event’s I will chose a complimenting color, so with Red I tend to go with soft shimmery golds or champagnes, navy leads me to silver nails, etc.
I do my nails between 4 – 7 days normally so everyday clothes sometimes clash, but its not a big deal.
I’m indian so when we have big events and have to wear outfits in bright colors, I go with matching my nails to the outfit. In the day to day world, no way!
Most of the time my nailpolish doesn’t match my clothes. I usually just pick my polish by what color I feel like wearing for the week. Also, I usually wear different, but complimentary, colors on my fingers and my toes. Mabye I am a weirdo but I don’t like to be too matchy. It feels dated to me, mabye because it reminds me of my grandmother who will wear a pink dress with pink polish, pink lipstick, pink shoes, and a pink purse, lol.
Depends. If its a special event or formal occasion I will do a nude or something that compliments the outfit. Most of the time if the polish isn’t chipping or peeling I just rock with what I already have on.
in all honesty i never even think about my nails with my clothes. ill wear whatever nail color i want [and any clothes i want] and if it ends up matching? awesome. if not? whatever! still looks fine to me.
a fun matching coincidence i had the other day though was when my rainboots matched my china glaze turned up turquoise. (: great way to brighten up a rainy day, right?
If I’m going somewhere special I’ll coordinate my nail polish with my outfit but on an everyday bases I’ll wear whatever. I never wear the same color like the picture though.
I just wear whatever polish strikes my fancy most of the time. There are rare occasions I try to make sure it doesn’t cash usually a nude to prevent any accidental chips from being obvious, but I’m never matchy-matchy.
I try to match my polish with the weather. lol.
Usually if it’s cold I’ll try to wear darker colors, and if it’s hot/warm I’ll wear my lighter/fun colors. haha
I don’t like to be matchy-matchy. I like to wear a polish that just “goes” with everything else. I like to wear opposite colors a lot. For example, blue dress, orange nails. Or grey, drab colors with yellow. I find that dark blue or green looks great with everything.
i’m a makeup artist, and when customers tell me they want to match their eyeshadow or lip color to their outfit, i always try to lead them to picking colors that compliment what they’re wearing or their eye/hair/skin color. when you are so matchy matchy it makes everything blend in & how boring is that! picking complimentary colors make you more visually interesting & appealing, in my opinion. its like mixing textures or print in a outfit, makeup & nails should be thought of in the same way!
i NEVER match my nail polish to anything i wear. I don’t even think about that. I wear whatever color i feel like and could frankly careless if it matches or not
I’m pretty much like you. 90% of the time, my nails don’t match, coordinate or compliment my outfit as I neither change my manicure often enough to coordinate my nails with my daily outfit or generally know what I plan to wear the next day as I tend to polish at night. When I *do* take wardrobe into account when choosing a nail color (this generally only happens for a big event I know about in advance like a big party or a wedding), I choose a color that looks good with the colors of my outfit but does not match it. Like when I wore black and turquoise to my brother’s wedding last fall, I chose the smoky purple/gold of Hard Candy’s Mr. Wrong. I think complimentary colors look more chic than deliberately matching nails.
On special occasions I will wear a color that will accessorize my outfit (since I tend to wear alot of dark clothing). I like to have the focus on anything with color that I’m wearing from makeup to nails and shoes so to “match” my particular wardrobe would be too boring. However when you are wearing a red dress like Emmy Rossum the focus is already on her outfit, but I noticed she had a big dark bracelet so she brought some extra attention to her nails as well to kinda balance out her ensemble.
I don’t match my nails to my clothes and actually take steps to avoid it. I might wear a lilac/lavendar polish with a deep purple sweater, but I wouldn’t wear a purple. I did wear a green sweater and green polish for St. Patrick’s day, but they were also not the same shade.
I tend to coordinate my polish with my accessories or my makeup, but a lot of the time I just wear whatever mood strikes me.
I’ve discovered that I own a few nail polish and T-shirt combos that match almost exactly. That’s kind of funny.
i was going to say “no, i never match my nails to my clothes!” but then i realized that my tank top and my nails are the exact same color. oops. (im sporting Chanel’s Nouvelle Vague and a turquoise tank)
Only at special events would I coordinate but I never match. I do not think I usually clash though, to be honest. My nails reflect the season (summer, winter, fall, spring) and my clothes tend to do the same so I guess i always match (for example in the winter i wear a lot of vampy reds, greys, navys, blacks, etc. on my nails and it matches the darker clothing i tend to wear)
i was going to say “no, i never match my nails to my clothes!” but then i realized that my tank top and my nails are the exact same color. oops. (im sporting Chanel’s Nouvelle Vague and a turquoise tank)
Picking my clothes to compliment my nails is more likely, match? Never. I will sometimes pick something that coordinates for a special occasion but really, since I tend to favor the same colors in clothes that I do in cosmetics it would be pretty hard to actually clash. I suppose if I really worked at it I could get a red/pink combo that would be gaudy, but I wouldn’t really care. As far as matching toes and tips, uh uh. I change my toes about every two weeks but my tips nearly every night. Besides, it would be like wearing a matched set of jewelry where your earrings, necklace and bracelet all had to be the same. Booooooring.
I’m VERY anal, therefore if I’m wearing an orange-red shirt I have to either have orange-red nail polish on in the exact same shade as the shirt or if not that, nude/classic french manicure so that it won’t clash. If I know I won’t have time to repaint throughout the week, I just paint my nails a french manicure so it matches everything I wear as the week goes on. But if I were wearing yellow nail polish for example, I’d have to wear a yellow top (same shade). It’s just something that would bug me majorly if it didn’t match, lol. Honestly no clue why but when I see someone with like orange nail polish and a blue shirt or something, it’s all I can think about.
Yes. I wear fingernail and toenail color to match each outfit that I wear. Everyday.