Embodied

Polished: Why We Care About Our Nails (Revisited)


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Anita's nail habit has evolved in the past decade from $10 drop-in manicures to 90 minute appointments with a nail artist. That artist joins her for a conversation about how Black women have shaped nail culture. Plus a fashion historian details nail history from Egyptian mummies to ‘90s Chanel colors, and a Vietnamese-American woman tells the story of growing up inside her parents' nail salons.

Meet the guests:

- Crystal Sanders, nail artist and entrepreneur, shares her business and artistic philosophy and talks about the overlooked role Black women have played in the history of nail art

- Suzanne E. Shapiro, fashion historian and author of "Nails: The Story of the Modern Manicure," explains the historical context of manicures and nail art and ties both art forms into larger cultural forces

- My Ngoc To, Vietnamese-American writer, talks about her experience growing up in the nail salons that her parents owned and how that has influenced her relationship with nail art today

Read the transcript | Review the podcast

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Dig deeper:

Crissy Shined Nails on IG

Blkgirlnailfies on IG

More context on Black women in nail art

NYT nail industry expose

My Ngoc’s piece about her family’s nail salons

Nailed It documentary

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