I better take off nail polish just incase

[Stephanie8]

this is one part i always seem to forget. especially the toe nails.

[ArleneRaquel]

In grammar school the nuns suggested that girls/women who painted their toe nails were scarlet women. Oh what they think of me !

[Jeninus]

Denise you did exactly the right thing, i.e. removing the polish. It's akin to blurting out something without thinking -- you can never take it back and your life could be changed forever. When you're retired it's different, but you're not there yet. It simply isn't worth the danger to your standing with your coworkers. No need being militant about your orientation, supportive HR or no supportive HR.

[Brown Eyed Girl]

Nicole, you're like me. There's a color called Bubble Bath and it's a super light pink and looks like it's barely there. So, I was wearing it one time and my wife caught a glimmer in the sunlight...."your toenails are sparkling!" Doubt it I retorted, but I know she was not happy....again.

[heel_addict]

I guess that we like the thrill of being caught. I remember about 4 months when my GF's friend and her boyfriend invited me and my GF to their cottage. It was a long drive and the cottage was quite secluded. We would be staying there for 2-3 days. I had decided to take off my red nail polish from my toenails just in case, fearing someone might have caught me or having to take off my socks and facing ridicule. Nobody had a clue about me having beautiful red nails under my socks, not even my girlfriend. Prior to leaving, I was having second thoughts, maybe I shouldn't take my nail polish off? And if I didn't, I would need to carry my nail polish remover with me, hidden in the car, to get rid of my red toenail polish in case of an emergency. I got a little braver and finally made up my mind. We would depart with me having red toenails hidden inside my socks and no nail polish remover! I remember, on the second day of our stay. I grabbed the chance to search their bathroom there for cosmetics etc, hoping to find a nail polish remover because I had a few close calls there! There was absolutely nothing that I could use to take off my nail polish, the nearest town was half an hour away, and almost all of the shops were closed because it was an off-season period in a tourist place. So I was literally stuck with my sexy red toenails there and so out of luck if I needed to take off my socks somehow Fortunately, I didn't have to. I pushed my luck with this one I guess but this is what made it incredibly exciting, it was the thrill of being caught!

[Etsy]

This depends a lot on the place where you work and your relationships with the people you work with. If they seem cool with more progressive styles and you can pull it off, leave it on. If they seem really conservative about appearances then take it off. At the office where I work, I've only heard one negative comment when I first started there, and it was because the guy was studying my face and noticed the eyebrows and made a tranny comment. I think he was just radaring me anyway, so no big deal. Most of the girls like my fingernail polish and a few of the guys think it is rad. I present as a somewhat spooky guy who dresses really androgynously and it is perfectly fine. I never deal with the public in person and deal only with other employees face to face and so grooming with a more feminine slant is a non-issue.

In my experience with work, I have never had any issues with a greater or lesser display of feminine appearance as long as I don't do any dramatic changes from day to day and act like the style I present is no big deal. It also helps a lot to be performing well at work and behave above reproach. I work in IT so keep in mind that geeks have a greater tendency toward looking and behaving different than the status quo generally anyway and are less judgemental over the superficial because many were on the wrong side of such judgements at some point in their lives.

It may not be acceptable where you work but as was stated before, many men wear toenail polish these days; more than wear fingernail polish for sure. Quite a few of these guys present as very masculine in appearance also. Many guys who prefer a more alternative appearance also wear fingernail polish. Whether it will be a big issue or a non-issue depends on your work culture really.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you have any other grooming habits that appear overtly feminine when combined together, the toenail polish might be the little thing that convinces some people you are a crossdresser. If that is a problem with your workplace be careful if you need to stay in the closet.

And as always, darker polishes and green/blue shades on guys is still seen as more acceptable than light pinks / light reds / light purples.