1930s Pedicures

It’s been a while since we did the post on 1930s manicures – high time indeed we turned our attention southward to the feet, and the 1930s pedicure. Pedicures had been part of “the meticulously groomed” woman’s beauty routine since the ‘20s, but it was not until the casting off of stockings and closed-toe shoes for beachwear, and the increasing popularity of “barefoot” beach shoes and “toeless” evening sandals that the pedicure, and painted toenails, really came into their own. As popular beauty writer Alicia Hart wrote in her long-running Glorifying Yourself column in 1933, “The importance of swimming and beach bathing in our modern life, and the interest of smart women in meticulous grooming, have made pedicures almost as desirable as manicures.” Weekly pedicures were highly recommended, not only for beauty but for health of the feet.

The procedure for the pedicure was basically the same then as now. Wealthy women could have theirs done at salons, but beauty experts noted that they were very easy to perform at home; the little foam-rubber thingy for separating the toes was available by at least 1938 – before that, wads of cotton was recommended, as in the article below from 1937. As for paining the toes, did they or didn’t they? Just as with painted fingernails, some did, some did not. At first considered rather daring, the practice gained greater acceptance as the decade went on. And, as with many trends of the era, the fad for toenail painting was said to have originated at fashionable French resorts. “You hear a lot about toe-nails painted to match fingernails as the last word in style from the other side, adopted by sophisticates here” Miss Hart had written in 1931, noting that she didn’t see a lot of them around. Her contemporary, Gladys Glad, said in October 1931, “The fad for vari-colored toenails attained a surprising amount of popularity on the continent during the past summer season. On almost all fashionable beaches, girls sported toenails that were colored to match their fingernails or their bathing suits. And in most case, the entire effect, while a trifle bizarre, was really quite a charming one. Of course there are some folks who think this fad a stupid one, and decidedly in poor taste.”

As noted in the manicure post, in the early-to mid ‘30s, fingernails were typically pained with the half-moon left bare, and in many cases the tip likewise unpainted, or treated with a nail-white product, as shown in the Cutex ad below from 1937. By the end of the decade, the tip was commonly painted, and sometimes the half-moon as well. Beauty experts of the day had differing opinions of how to accomplish the toenail painting, so any method that suits you would be equally period correct. Alicia Hart, for example, wrote in 1933: “If you wear bright polish on your fingernails, cover toenails with the same. If not, use a vivid shade on the feet just the same. Begin at the outer edges of the little half moon and cover the entire nail, including the tip.” Gladys Glad wrote in summer 1935, “Never use a polish on your toenails that will clash with the tint used on your fingertips,” adding “when applying the polish to your toenails, brush it with outward strokes only, onto the central portion of each nail: the half-moon and rims should of course be left their contrasting white hue.” Others of the same period advocated covering the entire nail, including half-moon and tip, with polish.