Fashion types have been falling all over themselves for funky manicures lately, but beauty editor Aja Mangum points out that nail art isn’t new at all. “It’s something that’s been around forever in the black community,” she tells Buzzfeed Shift. “You used to associate it with being a little ‘hood’ or ‘ghetto fab.’ Now white women are tricking out their nails and it’s not seen that way.” Meanwhile, fashion critic Robin Givhan cautions against giving the trend racial labels:
Maybe it crossed some class line, as opposed to having crossed a racial line … You have to be very careful in claiming that any group of people owns a look, or claiming that you have to pay homage to them.
Considering so many fashion editors continue to make awkward racial gaffes, “very careful” is certainly the way to go.
