TikTok has turned some odd fashion choices into worldwide trends in just days.
Some include the big red boots trend (exactly what it sounds like, people wearing bed red boots with outfits that don’t match), the fake dimple trend (poking and massaging a spot on the face with a black pen to creates a mark that sort of looks like a dimple), and the “weird girl” trend (featuring clashing and mismatched outfits).
The “white toes” trend, sometimes referred to more accurately as the “white nails” trend, first appeared in the early 2020s. It has, however, become much more visible in the last couple of years.
What Does “White Toes” Mean on TikTok?
Veteran TikTok users may remember a 2020 TikTok post that went viral. It was a female user asking, “Why is it that every time you ask a boy what colour you should get your nails they say light blue?” That not only triggered a ton of responses and comments, but caused many on the social media platform to claim that having light blue nails is a sign that someone is “taken.”
More recently, people on TikTok have built upon the idea that light blue toenails signify having a boyfriend (or girlfriend). No one’s quite sure who originated the corollary, but it became an article of faith on the app that white toenails (or “white toes”) are a signal to the world that a person is single. Many users now post videos showing off their white toes to “advertise” their availability.
The trend may actually have been based on earlier references, though.
Urban Dictionary has an early 2019 entry claiming that white nail polish means that someone is “ready to move on, to have a fresh start.” That’s not a definitive definition, though; the website also has entries from as far back as 2018 claiming that white toenails mean “a female…has an amazing p–sy…and knows how to f—k” and that the nail color indicates “sexual experience.”
In the fashion world, however, white toenails are often considered to be a clean, fresh, and sophisticated statement, particularly when worn with open-toed shoes or sandals.
We wouldn’t venture to guess what a user wants others to assume about them when they post TikTok content showing off their white toenails — and we’d suggest that readers follow our lead. Making the wrong guess could be embarrassing, or much, much worse.
About the Author
Peter Hasselworth is a contributor at iDigic, sharing valuable insights about Instagram growth and social media marketing strategies.