Another positive comment today

Just thought I'd share this short story about another situation today where I was out and about, working, and wearing sandals with my toes painted a nice blue when a woman noticed them.

My blue toes

It was pretty cool but it went something like this.  I do construction work and am self employed so we run ads on craigslist for all kinds of things including handyman work.  Well we got a call today to repair a broken door knob so I met the lady who is the property manager and proceeded to fix it while she waited in the apartment.  As we were wrapping up she asked me if I got pedicures or if I did my own toes.  I told her my wife & I get pedis when we can afford it but right now we do our own.  She thought it was cool especially since she's also a nail tech at JC Penneys.  I point out this story to show that 99% of the time women think it's very cool that guys wear nail polish and it makes you feel good when someone notices.

And just 2 days ago, a similar story.  I showed up to bid a job but due to a mix up, the male I was supposed to meet wasn't home, but his mother was.  Her little white dog ran out to greet me and she looked down at him and spotted my painted toes and asked where I got the blue from.  She commented that she just had to mention them but thought it was no big deal and thought it was cool.

Guys, I could tell you dozens of stories like this as women often comment on my painted toes, and 99% think it's very cool and often wish their boyfriend or husband would try it.

So if you're still worried about going out in public, just try it.  But there are some pointers in pulling it off successfully.  Mainly, act normal, like you would without painted toes.  Act confident and most will think it's cool, and those that don't probably wont say a thing.  I've never had a really negative comment of any kind in about 3 years now.

Get out there, be yourself and live life the way you want to!  You'll be addicted to it once you do, trust me.

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Won't people stare if a man shows his painted toes in public?

One of the most common concerns I see from other guys who paint their toes but are afraid to show them in public goes along the line of 'I'm afraid that everyone will think I'm a nutjob if they see me in public with my toes painted.  Heck, I used to think that for sure.  I just KNEW that everyone would notice and point and stare.  But yet, I truly believed that there was nothing wrong with it, but I didn't think anyone else would feel the same.

It's actually fairly hard to notice my painted toes

And I set myself up for this staring to happen by going out in public looking Very nervous, looking around all the time to see who might be looking, avoiding people in stores, etc.  And yes, some people did seem to notice, but then it hit me that one reason they were looking was because I was ACTING GUILTY!  Think about it, if you see someone in a store looking around nervously and acting odd, you're going to look at them more aren't you in order to figure out what they're up to.  So if you act this way, you'll be noticed and people will automatically assume your guilty of something.

So Act Normal.  Sounds simple right?  Well, it can be a little nerve racking at first, but once you try it a few times you'll realize it works.  If you act confident and act like you're not doing anything wrong, people won't pay any attention to you.  I go out in public all time time in sandals like those on the right, and with my bright blue or red toes showing and since I learned this secret, almost No One notices my toes.  And those that do just do a double take or something and it's no big deal.  I've been doing this in public for years now and have not had one negative experience from it.  Sure, I've had a few minor negatives, but I've had many more positive comments, mostly from women, but they've been great.

For example, here's a story I posted from a couple of years ago-

Just had a fun comment tonight. My GF and I were in the grocery store picking up a few things when I hear a female voice say 'I really like your pedicure'. Well at first I just figured she was commenting on my GF's toes or someone else's. But as I turned she was looking right at my purple painted toes and again commented on how good they looked and that she loved it. I thanked her and we went our separate ways but it was very cool to get such a positive comment from a total stranger like that, in public. Was cool that she walked up and made the comment even though I wasn't even looking at her and hadn't seen her.

Just makes me more confident that a lot of people actually like it and think it's great that I have the confidence to do it.

And I've had many other positive comments like that, as have many other guys out there who paint their toes or fingers and show them in public.  You DON"T have to be a rockstar to pull this off, just be yourself.

Any others want to share their experiences below?
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An Interesting question about 'Mens' Nail polish

Saw an interesting post recently on Facebook in the 'National Assn of Polished and Lacquered Men' with a question that resembled a question I've seen before.  The question was basically, 'Why do we need nail polish for men, I mean, what's the difference between other nail polish and that labeled as Men's Polish'?  And that's a great question that many people might be wondering.

Well I and a few others answered it and here is my answer as I gave it on Facebook-

It's kind of like buying socks, if you happen to see a pair of socks in a cool color or pattern you like as you're walking through say Target, but they're in the women's section and you're a guy, 99.9% of guys would never buy that pair.  But if they found the same ones in the mens dept, voila, it must be ok so many more would buy them.  Same holds true for nail polish for guys who haven't tried it and gotten comfortable enough to wear polish in public.  If they can see that some polish is labeled as mens, it then becomes OK to wear polish and you can always say, 'Hey, it's a polish made for men, so there's nothing wrong with it'.

Folks, there are MANY more men out there interested in wearing nail polish themselves, but they are too afraid to admit it, even to themselves because we are so brainwashed by society to believe that if the label says it's for women, or society says something is for women, then it's wrong for men to use that item.  Now, there is some logic in labeling items as men's or women's.  For example, obviously men and women have different anatomies and therefore certain items of clothing are made to more specifically fit a person of a certain sex.  Items like bras or underwear are made differently for men than women and vice versa.

Now some guys find those items of clothing so fascinating or they are drawn to the style and choose to wear them anyway, and I'm perfectly fine with that.  Women wear men's boxers all the time, so it's no big deal.  But my point is that many items are labeled by sex simply because of the dept they are sold in at stores, or because the sizing is different for men vs women.  Or it's because of simple profitability because they know that men for example are much less likely to buy underwear with flowers on them, or socks in fun colors or patterns.  And the stores are out to make money so they only market flowery underwear to women and simple colors or whites to men.  It's simple economics in this case. 

But where we get our values mixed up, or we're basically brainwashed or confused is when we see that an item is sold in the women's dept or that mostly women use an item (or so we think) and we draw the conclusion that items like that are ONLY for women and that's it's wrong for men to use that item.  That's really not logical thinking.  I mean think about it.  If a sock manufacturer found out that men would buy socks with cool colors like red, lime green or with kittens on them or something like that, they'd have a line of socks like that labeled as MEN'S in a heartbeat.  So labels are not rules about which sex can wear or use something and which can not.

Nail polish is much the same way.  Society associates nail polish as being feminine because it's mostly women that wear it.  There hasn't been many lines of men's nail polish simply because nail polish companies felt there was not enough demand, period.  Not because it's wrong for men to wear nail polish.  But over the past 10 yrs or so there have been MANY more men trying nail polish on their fingers, or toes, or both and discovering that it's just fun, and looks good.  But the problem was, they always felt like they were probably the only guys in town who were into it so they never let on to anyone.  Yeah, rockers could do it and it was ok, but for an average guy to try it, god forbid.  They figured people would stare, ridicule, possibly physically harass them or they might get fired at work, etc.  Or they were afraid it would somehow diminish their manhood and make them a sissy.  Geez people, it's only color.  What makes a man a man is more about the persons actions, and what's in their heart and soul, not whether or not they have color on their toes or fingers. 

Then a strange thing happened..... The internet.  Suddenly there was this new way of finding out that there were a lot of other guys who like nail polish as well.  Damn, there was actually quite a few guys out there.  And then it began to grow.  Slowly at first, but as more and more of us bought computers and learned how to surf the net we began typing in search terms like 'men with nail polish', or 'Guys who paint their toes'.  And wow, we started finding groups and forums and such with other guys who also painted their toes, or fingers.  For example, I have a group on Flickr with almost 300 members titled the same as this blog at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1113911@N20/ . Through the internet we found out about a few brave guys who actually went out in public with painted toes and flip flops, and it was no big deal.  Plus we saw tough macho guys like UFC Fighter Chuck Lidell get into the ring with his toes painted pink, or blue or whatever .  Not just black, he went for pink too.  So some guys thought, if a tough guy like that can do it, so can I.

Going out in public with my painted toes

Soon more and more guys started doing the same thing, myself included, thanks to guys like Toepaintguy on Flickr, or St Louis Punk-Rocker.  I saw that these guys were painting there toes and going out in public and they loved it, and a LOT of women loved it.  They were not getting stared at all the time, they weren't getting harassed everywhere and it wasn't the big deal I thought it would be.  So I tried it and it was the same for me.  At first it was a little uncomfortable, but soon, I felt more awkward without polish on my toes than with.  And yes, I got a lot of positive comments from women about my painted toes.

Well now there is a lot more guys who are into nail polish and some companies have taken notice of this and developed a line of polish just for men.  The reason is simple, like explained above, if you label it for guys it suddenly becomes OK for them to try it.  I mean hey, they would label it for guys if it wasn't ok, right.  And I think it's great that they have.  They understand that they have a possibility of expanding their market if they can reach the men.  And the best way to do that is to have a line just for men.  Now men who were uneasy about trying it can buy the 'Mens' line and feel more comfortable about it.  I have to admit that a number of years back a company called Hard Candy came out with a line of polish called 'Candy Man', and I thought COOL, now it's getting to where it's OK for men to wear nail polish, and I bought some.  Mind you I already had other NON mens colors, but this was cool because there was polishes that said they were for men. 

BB Coutures 'Military Blues' polish for men

Since then I've come to realize that yes, polish is all the same whether labeled as for men or not.  And so I buy whatever line of color suits me, although I love to support companies who promote polish for men like BB Couture.  By labeling some colors as mens colors it will encourage more men to try nail polish for the first time, at least in public.  This way they can always say 'Hey, it's a men's nail polish I'm wearing'.


So to companies like BB Couture, thank you and we hope you keep promoting your mens line.  And to other companies, you could be missing out on a sizable market share by not letting men know it's ok to wear polish.


Feel free to Follow this Blog and to post your comments on this subject below.  And please share this article on your blogs, emails, facebook page etc.
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Introduction to my Blog

Me leaving for town with painted toes

Welcome to my blog for men who paint their nails, or would like to, and those who support them.  I decided to create this blog because I have been painting my toes for many years, and in that time I have worked to support men's freedom of choice when it comes to whether or not they paint their toes or fingers.

Society has led us to believe that for some strange reason, it is not okay for men to paint their nails. This is all silly thinking as painting our nails does not make us feminine, nor does it change us in any way, it is simply an expression of our sense of style. but for most of us the thought of painting our toes or fingers can be quite terrifying. We believe that if we do so and go out into the normal public, everyone will stare at us, ridiculous, and we may even lose our jobs, friends etc. But friends let me tell you that this is 99% just in your head.

I have participated in many discussions on various forums, websites etc. and the men who have been painting their nails in going out in public four years all express the same basic description of their experience. And that description is that, "it's no big deal". The first few times I went out in public with my painted toes showing, I just knew that everyone was going to be staring at me, making snide remarks etc. And because of this I walked around looking for people to be doing just that. But guess what, NO one noticed. Well I should say that almost no one noticed. I finally realize that by walking around looking for people to be staring at me, I was looking guilty and drawing attention to myself. So a number of people were looking at me, but pretty much no one noticed my painted toes.

Closeup of my toes painted a dark brown

I was still very fearful of being "caught", and was especially afraid that my father, who was very conservative, would find out. So for several years I seldom went out in public with my toes showing, but often painted them at home, and went to work wearing socks and shoes with painted toes underneath. My close friends knew that I painted my toes and had no problem with it. Actually they seem to think it was fairly cool that I was brave enough to do this, and besides my feet just looked better because in order to do a good quality pedicure, I ended up with much nicer looking feet than the typical guy who mostly ignores the condition of his feet.

Then about three years ago, in 2009, I met a wonderful woman who would soon become my wife. And my wife loved the fact that I painted my toes, and was freethinking enough to not let society dictate my sense of fashion, and to just do what I wanted. She began encouraging me to go out in public with my toes showing anywhere, which I did. Now mind you my father had passed away about one year earlier, and at that time I began realizing that life is way too short to worry about what the world thinks about your sense of style or how you choose to live your life. So I began going out in public more and more with painted toes and sandals or flip-flops. And I discovered that if I didn't walk around looking guilty and just acted like everything I was doing was normal, which it was, pretty much NO ONE noticed my painted toes, and the few that did were mostly women and they tended to have mostly positive comments. The few negative comments I received were very minor such as they couldn't understand why I did it. But most women thought it was very cool and many wished that their boyfriend would do the same.

Since that time I spend 90% of my summer in sandals and flip-flops,and 99% of the time my toes are painted. And paint them in many colors from pinks to Reds, purples, Brown's, dark colors, and blues and greens. And in that time I have begun to be somewhat of an activist for men's freedom of fashion, especially the rate for men to be able to paint their fingernails or toenails as they choose. So I have decided to create this blog to further promote those freedom rights and hope that you will gain some insight as to why it's okay for men to have painted nails.

I'll be discussing the fun of painting our nails, why it's ok, some stories about painting our toes, and other things like wearing toe rings, anklets, or colorful shoes if you like, such as the orange ones in the pic above.  This blog isn't about crossdressing or being fem, it's for ordinary guys who just happen to like painting our nails although we may discuss other emerging fashion trends for men.

I hope you'll subscribe to my blog, and enjoy the information that I will be posting over the next few years. Also if you have a Flickr account please join our Flickr group titled "It's okay for men to have painted nails in public"

NOTE: if you would like to follow my Blog, you should be able to click the 'Follow' link in the upper left hand corner of this page, in the Tan blog bar or look for one of the other methods to follow me on the upper right side of the page.

Also, feel free to check out my Photo Gallery on the right side of this page.