Fingernails: Pop (and Mom) Art

In what may be the niftiest put-on since early Warhol, attention-getting women are using Pop (or Mom) art to decorate their fingernails (see color). Linda Lovelace trips with stripes and sparkles. Tina Sinatra goes for checks and chevrons in black, blue, purple and yellow. Nancy Reagan displays--what else?--conservative decor, usually pale shades of pink that blend with her complexion. Popular nail orders are for half-moons, hearts, houses, bumblebees, ladybugs and lilies. One Revlonutionary in Los Angeles celebrates Bicentennial themes; other tastes range from pets to presidential preferences. At Mr. Michaels, a Manhattan manicurist, a new fad is to have each finger painted a different color.

Manic manicure dates back about three years in Southern California, where the trend started. Now, according to professionals, cuticle consciousness is exploding like a pinkie sunburst.

Rumanian-born Jessica Vartoughian, whose clients in Beverly Hills include Mrs. Reagan, Carmen McRae, Mrs. Alfred Bloomingdale, and Joanna (Mrs.

Johnny) Carson, says that requests for far-out fingers have gone up tremendously of late. One of Vartoughian's current specialties: Valentines. Manicurist Minnie Smith, a 20-year veteran whose Minnie-designs decorate the likes of Sinatra, Lovelace, Mitzi Gaynor and Leslie Uggams, is giving a $350 course in finger painting. One of the most innovative designers is Paula Johnson, who has turned one customer's fingernails into a handful of cards (a full house). Manicurist Dyan Hill, who had five years of art school, recently deployed a Chinese dragon in turquoise, gold, orange, lime green and fuchsia for Singer Linda Miles. Says Hill: "I found that painting designs on nails has a way of combining my art and my profession."

Nail Bank. Like an artist preparing a canvas, the manicurist usually starts by strengthening and lengthening the nail with a special cement. The painting is applied on top of a layer or two of lacquer and is then covered with at least five protective coatings. The artwork will stay in prime condition for two or three weeks. Atlanta Manicurist Jean Dean tips clients' fingers with human nails that have been specially grown and sold to a "nail bank." Though most fashion plates keep their art at their fingertips, manicurists have a sizable toe trade among women headed for tropical beaches.

The woman who craves notable nails must have patience as well as money. Top manicurists charge up to $65 for a full art deco hand. The painting and varnishing take up to two hours, and the nails need another hour to dry. Why do they bother to dress up their nails? Explains Paula Johnson: "Most women need something like this as an ego booster. They need people to say, 'How beautiful!' or 'How strange!' " A more practical explanation is advanced by Faye Cummings, a Los Angeles accountant and grandmother who is one of Johnson's regulars. Says she: "You buy a dress for $60 and wear it maybe once. But your nails are something you wear 24 hours a day."

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