Style Guides

15+ Chic Halloween Nail Designs for a Spooky Affair

Lately, I’ve really been diving into the world of Halloween nail designs, and think they’re such a fantastic way to refresh your look for the season. There’s an intriguing, almost magical quality about how these designs capture that eerie, spooky vibe while still maintaining a sense of sophistication. It’s like wearing a mini piece of art on each nail—every one a tiny masterpiece crafted with shades of black, burnt oranges, and deep burgundies. I find myself particularly drawn to ghostly motifs these days. They’re this perfect blend of playfulness and elegance, managing to bring out that Halloween spirit without being over the top. It’s amazing how something so small and insignificant can have an effect on style!

If you’re someone who enjoys keeping things subtle, there are some incredible minimalist designs to consider as well. Imagine a matte black base with just a single, silver spider or web—it’s understated yet undeniably chic, offering a nod to the season without losing that elegant touch. Finding that balance between stylish and mysterious is not only achievable but also incredibly rewarding, especially for those who appreciate a more refined aesthetic. On the other hand, if you’re looking to make a bold statement, exploring designs that incorporate 3D elements like tiny bats or pumpkins crafted from gems can truly transform your look. These kinds of designs have a way of standing out, allowing your nails to be the star of your ensemble, adding a fashionable edge to whatever you wear.

This Halloween, I’m all about getting creative with patterns that go beyond the ordinary. From haunted house silhouettes and jack-o’-lantern faces to candy corn motifs, these ideas marry seasonal charm with a contemporary flair, inviting you to explore your creativity to the fullest. For those who cherish a bit of nostalgia, retro Halloween icons like vintage witches, black cats, and classic skulls provide a traditional yet timeless appeal. Styled with modern elements like neutral color palettes or matte finishes, they manage to feel both current and timeless. Let’s not overlook the power of color contrasts and negative space, which can yield intriguing, eye-catching patterns. Even a simple clear nail with a swirling tendril of color can create an effect that’s both minimalist and mysteriously engaging.

Whether you’re channeling a gothic goddess vibe or simply looking to add a touch of Halloween flair to your everyday style, these nail designs offer a creative and stylish way to embrace the spirit of the season.

Abstract Designs, Pumpkin Brown Tones, Adorned Ghosts

  • Maybe you’re not really a Halloween-themed-nails sort of person, even though you like the spirit of Halloween. In that case, you might want to try an Abstract Design with themed colors.
  • Pumpkin Brown Tones are taking center stage this Fall 2024 season, in general. Try incorporating it into your nail game by trying a translucent nail base extension and painting over it with a shimmery orange-brown lacquer or gel polish.
  • I mean…how cute is a tiny Ghost Adorned with flowers?

Blood Red, Black Detailing, Unique French Tips

  • Blood Red nails are the easiest spooky nails trend that you can do for your nails this Fall. Don’t afraid to be creative with the color, like the nail art in the images, above!
  • Black Detailing can be added to the periphery of a plain-colored nail for some *pizzazz*, or used to make tiny design accents. Use black polish on a nail sponge to create a vignette with another color.
  • Whoever said that French-tipped nails need to be ordinary? Try making Unique French Tips by blurring the edges of the tip, or making a more precise design with a brush, or stickers.

Cat Eye Nails, Holographic Nails, Tiny Black Stickers

  • Cat Eye Nails are my favorite nail style this Fall. I love how it adds shimmer in an elevated way. This Fall season, try using cat-eye polish as a base for your nail designs!
  • Holographic Nails give the appearance of light and dark mystery. Either way, it’s definitely an eye-catching, magickal color that’s perfect for Halloween.
  • If you’re no artist (no judgement here) but you still want to have Tiny Black Designs on your nails, try out these nail stickers!

Square-Tipped, Film Art, Spirals, Word Art

  • Square-Tipped and coffin-shaped nails are making a small comeback this season, and I think Halloween is the perfect time to try out the OG bad-girl nail shape!
  • Film Art on nails is elite craftsmanship. This Halloween, try making the most elaborate designs you possible can, that is inspired by your favorite horror films. ….. or get a pack of nail stickers that already has the design for you (here, and here, aaaand here)!
  • Try color-coordinated Spirals on your film art design nails to fill up space!
  • Word Art when overused can look a little lazy, but intersperse it on various nails between more elaborate designs, and your nails will look perfect!

Pink Halloween, Ghosts, Pink Pumpkins

  • Having a Pink Halloween is relatively simple. Replace all the orange with pink and voila!
    • What is Halloween without lots of tiny Ghost decals? Any colored nail can be made instantly spooky-themed with a weee little ghost.
  • Try out Pink Pumpkin nails with different Jack O’Lantern faces drawn on them!

Whimsical & Spooky Designs, Cat French Tips, Fall Foliage

  • Whimsical & Spooky Designs will paint a lovely scene of potions, hidden cats, and ghosts in the fall foliage.
  • Here’s another twist on the French tip, try Black Cat French Tips on plain or colored nails!
  • If you don’t want any particular Halloween motifs but still want to give your nails a spooky vibe, try Fall Foliage in hues of oranges and browns set on a dark colored background.

Embracing a Halloween-themed manicure is an excellent method to enhance your costume and bring a playful touch to your autumn wardrobe. I trust that this collection of Halloween nail designs has been as enjoyable for you as it has been for me, and that it provides the inspiration you seek for your 2024 Halloween festivities!

Fashion Talk

It’s Time to Retire Chino Pants & Other Fashionable Thoughts

I said what I said, and I may have said it from a place rooted in years of personal trauma, but there comes a time in every fashion connoisseur’s life when realization hits like a bolt of lightning: beloved, it’s time to retire chino pants. Yes, you heard me right. I’m calling it out. My revival of this deep-seated disdain for those abominable trousers arose during a recent endeavor where I was researching attire suitable for a Look Book blog post. It’s funny how life circles back to haunt you with memories you’d rather keep buried in the depths of your closet. I stand ten-toes down when I say that it’s time to retire chino pants.

A Personal Disdain for Chinos

these are chino pants that are too ugly to be looked at.

Now, you’re probably wondering where all this vehement dislike spawns from. Allow me to paint you a picture: a girl, dressed in a private school uniform, navigating the corridors of academia for what felt like an eternity – sixteen years, to be precise. Chinos, those drab, ill-fitting pants, were a staple of my mandatory wardrobe, and over time, they became the bane of my existence. They were more than just pants; they became a symbol of conformity and restriction, akin to shackles that suppressed creative expression. I have a visceral reaction to them, a feeling akin to whatever emotion transcends hate – let’s call it “super-hate” for now. In fact, my hate for these pants is so severe, that when i see people wearing them, I feel like they’ve never had an original thought.

Those years ingrained in me a deep aversion that I can’t quite shake off. After spending such a significant chunk of my life in them, enduring countless days encased in beige, navy, or sometimes, if the universe felt particularly cruel, khaki chinos, I emerged with a passionate plea for liberation from this fashion tyranny. It is time to retire chino pants. Fast forward to adulthood, and I’m baffled by the legions of individuals in white-collar jobs, many of whom I suspect also endured private or parochial school dress codes, who willingly choose to don these hideous pants daily. It’s as if they’ve embraced them as a uniform once again, a sartorial Stockholm Syndrome if you will. With a plethora of alternative pants available – chic trousers, tailored slacks, even jeans in myriad forms – why, oh why, would one gravitate back to chinos?

Fashion Needs to Evolve, Not Cling to Convention

I understand the argument for comfort and ease. After all, a world in which one can casually reach into their closet and pull out something familiar, something that fits the established code without much thought, is compelling. But that, I argue, is precisely the problem. When did we allow fashion to become so… monotonous? When did we trade our right to self-expression for the convenience of homogeneous attire? Chinos, in their insipid ubiquity, have slithered their way into the heart of what I call the “beige plague” – a trend towards neutral, safe, and ultimately dull aesthetics that threaten to engulf our vibrant personalities!!!!!

Maybe…maybe I should get of the soap box for a moment…

The irony of fashion is that it often clings to the very conventions it seeks to break. We see the cyclical nature of trends, the constant reinvention of the old as new. Yet, for some reason, chinos have remained impervious, steadfast in their banality. This mystifies me as I delve into researching current fashion trends. As I’m creating look books that inspire, I can’t help but wonder why chinos persist. Who decided that these pants, born from military uniformity and later adopted by Ivy League preppiness, should dominate our corporate apparel?

Imagine a world where we allow ourselves to explore the sartorial spectrum fully. A place where wide-legged trousers in vibrant hues make statements in boardrooms. Where pinstripe pants and houndstooth patterns dance down the hallways. Picture structured culottes, sleek joggers, and tailored jeans speaking volumes about our personalities. It’s all within reach, if only we liberate ourselves from the shackles of dated norms.

Balancing Form and Function

I am not advocating for a complete abandonment of practicality – fashion should balance between form and function. But there’s a plethora of options that offer both comfort and a sense of individuality. The high-waisted, the flared, the cropped, and the palazzo… The world of fashion pants is vast and varied, begging to be explored and embraced. There’s literally so many other fashion choices that can be made other than wearing chinos.

Perhaps my disdain is steeped in nostalgia, rooted in those formative years of uniformity. However, as I sit here now, pondering the evolving nature of fashion, I’m reminded of the power of change. And of the fact that chinos are really fu*king ugly.

Lifestyle Style

The Surprisingly Chic World of Normcore: Embracing Your Life

Normcore is the antidote to my daily grind of trying to squeeze myself into 30 different aesthetics. It’s the “surprisingly chic” revolution that lets me embrace my life and stay exactly as I am—fake, wooden granite countertops and all. Because, honestly, who has the energy to reinvent themselves every morning?

I found myself in the throes of Normcore on TikTok late last night, watching woman after woman give daily vlogs of “day in the life of a normal girl,” and let me tell you, I felt so seen! They were using blenders that their parents had used to blend peppers to make their smoothies, and that distinct peppery aftertaste? Chef’s kiss. They were driving cars just as beat up as mine, breathing the same sighs of relief I breathe daily when my car gives me no troubles or “check engine” lights. For once, I felt relief at not experiencing those heart-pangs of aspiration. For a moment, I simply was. I was in a world so much like my own.

In my world, those beyond off-white sneakers and functional comforters are celebrated. There is no hustle to look editorially perfect because the life of the average person is not editorial. Normcore is my ticket to a life where excessive effort is completely optional. This aesthetic looks me right in the eye and says, “Relax.”

A Day in My Life of Normcore

My hair is neat and natural, with my God-given curls as unruly as the uncut grass in my yard. My skin is scrubbed clean and moisturized with the same combo of African Black Soap and raw Shea butter I’ve always used. My clothes are second-hand—from 10 years ago—and they feel familiar with the smell of detergent and one of my many perfumes wafting off of them. My coffee is not gourmet—it’s a simple k-cup in my white Yeti mug with cream and sugar. Not wearing the perfect purse, instead, I wear my trusty backpack because I’m a grad student and merely need all of my belongings to be readily available without any hassle.

I walk into the lab and do my experiments, work on my laptop, and make boring little graphs. And at the end of the day, it’s just me, my bed, Netflix, my blog, and an at-home poke bowl (the ingredients of which cost HALF the price of a poke bowl I’d get from an establishment, thank you very much). Good god, I am just MEEEE! And that’s so luxurious to me.

Finding Peace in Normcore

From my second-hand clothes to my simple k-cup coffee, I’ve found a peculiar joy in embracing the ordinary. On several mornings, I revel in the exhaustion of caring just a bit too much before deciding, “Nah, I’m good.” I slip into my well-worn comfort zone, ditching the constant demand to be on-trend. Normcore reminds me that sometimes, the best way to stand out is to stop trying so hard. Let’s be real—nothing says freedom like giving up on the daily aesthetic rat race. The best part is that your normcore may never look like someone else’s, and having an aesthetic that is all your own is the biggest flex in my book.

Normcore isn’t just a trend; it’s my liberation from the exhausting pursuit of trying to be someone else, and it feels pretty f***ing good! I recommend that you embrace your life with the normcore aesthetic every so often! Of course I’d never dog anyone who is wants to embody an aesthetic that makes them feel amazing (I mean…have you SEEN this blog? I’m an aesthetic whore). But every once in a while, I love to embrace the mundane as an aesthetic that’s so unique to myself, and maybe you should, too.

Style

5 Must-Have Items That You Need to Always Look Put-Together

I religiously find myself at a loss for what to wear…despite my overflowing closet *ahem*, but I’m sure that if you’re here you also are at a loss. You want to look good and feel good without having to put in the brain work. So being the girl’s girl that I am, I’ve compiled a list of 5 must-have items that you need to with these put-together wardrobe essentials!

The Essential Classic White Shirt

There’s an effortless charm about the classic white shirt that makes it indispensable in my wardrobe. It’s the piece I rely on when I need to look put together without any fuss. It’s a comfort on its own, whether it’s the cool, breezy cotton for a day out or the sharp, pristine linen for professional settings. In a well-fitted white shirt, I walk out the door feeling ready, reflecting a quiet kind of confidence that makes me feel invincible in both meetings and the grocery store.

Because of its versatility, it’s lowkey my sartorial Swiss Army knife – it complements every look, adapting

to my day’s roles. With sleeves rolled up paired with my favorite jeans, it’s casual perfection; buttoned up and tucked into tailored trousers, it’s the epitome of professionalism.

The Transformational Well-Fitted Jeans

Jeans are the great equalizer – and finding that perfect pair is no small triumph. They’re my go-to for days when I want to stand out, look good, and yet feel completely at ease. However, they’re also so casual that it’s important to pick a good-looking, well-fitted pair so that you don’t come across as frumpy. The search for jeans that fit like a second skin is definitely worth it – they’re another must in my fashion lineup. It’s even better when you hve a single pair that you keep for years and years because it’s good quality and sturdy (I’m looking at you Wrangler jeans from eBay!). My jeans go with everything and take me anywhere.

They have a unique ability to be dressed up or down, and they’re the base layer of my most creative outfits. Whether I opt for a simple, classic blue, an edgy distressed look, or an elegant dark wash, they’re a reflection of my personal journey, capturing memories and moments along the way.

The Impact of a Statement Accessory

What’s an outfit without a personal stamp? This is where a statement accessory comes in – it’s my secret to turning an ordinary look into a memorable ensemble. Be it a bold watch, a vintage ring, or a pair of sunglasses with character, these items are more than just trinkets; they tie my story together and define my style.

These pieces aren’t just decorative – they’re conversational. They’re how I show off my personality without saying a word, bringing an outfit from simply ‘there’ to authentically ‘me’.

The Classic Pumps: A Symbol of Sophistication

Classic pumps have been a game-changer for me. They strike the perfect balance between style and sophistication and act as a quick upgrade to any outfit. The right pair isn’t just stylish – it’s powerful, giving me an extra boost of poise and self-assurance.

They’re the finishing touch whether I pair them with jeans for an elevated casual look or with a dress for formal affairs. Their versatility is unmatched, and that’s why I make sure to select a pair that speaks to who I am, ready to announce confidently with every step that I’ve arrived.

The Structured Blazer: Your Armor of Elegance

Whenever I put on a structured blazer, it feels like donning a suit of stylish armor. It has a way of making me feel like I’m commanding any room that I step into. It lends an air of authority and polish to my presence. It’s not just about wearing something tailored; it’s about feeling tailored – to the moment, to the meeting, to the impression I want to leave.

A blazer is my smart-casual go-to and sits at the crossroads of practicality and style. It works everywhere – it takes me to that blessed edge of looking too dressed up, but looking so, damned good! It’s how I make sure that even before I speak, I’ve already said a lot about my attention to detail and my sense of style.