Flared nails are back in fashion and no, we don’t know why either

If you’re over having almond-shaped nails, who about turning your acrylics into triangular monstrosities? Okay, so they’re not a new thing. Flared nails, otherwise known as duck feet nails, have been around for a while now – but they’ve recently resurfaced on Instagram and we’re not quite sure how they’ve become a trend in 2017. For anyone who doesn’t know about flared nails, they’re basically nails that’ll make you think you’re back in the 70s. The nails feature a flared shape, bringing out the corner of each nail into a duck foot-like fashion.
                                         

The look can be created using either acrylic or gel. According to beauty blog Glambo, you should apply either as though you are creating an artificial nail, except ‘where the white meets the pink’, you should begin ‘gradually adding the white product outward on the sides’ to create a flared shape. The tips of the nail should not be too much longer than the nail bed – otherwise the nail risk breaking. Finally, finish the nail with a harsh, square tip for full duck foot-like effect. Of course, you don’t have to go for the natural look – and many Instagram users who’ve been creating the look for themselves have gone above and beyond to make their fingers pop with colour.

No one really knows why the design has been called "baby boomer nails".
But there is a convincing theory from nail artist Bethel Coleman on her blog.
She said: "The baby boomer era is known from approximately 1946-1964, in 1945 when the world war ended there was an influx of babies born about 9 months later.....
"We can guess why? And the number of babies born each year averaged about 4million until 1964 then tapped off.
"In this time of the baby boom, the most popular nail colours were bright red, frosted pinks and whites."