This is one of those awkward, in-between times of year when you can get caught out with the wrong nail colour and end up looking far too bright and summery as the season transitions from shimmering hot days to sharper, crisper ones. But equally, we are not yet at the deepest dark blue or sleek oxblood red time of year – that would be far too serious.

I was forced to address this transitional nail dilemma last weekend when I was getting a manicure in anticipation of a friend’s wedding – a rare and exciting event these days. My go-to coral seemed too brash even for early September, so I took to Instagram for ideas, dropping in on the feeds of my favourite New York celebrity manicurists, Jin Soon Choi and Deborah Lippmann.

I discovered a delightful new polish palette of soft, suede hues, from moss and olive greens, like Lippmann’s Elia, to dusty plums, cinnamons and brick reds like JinSoon’s Earth Clay – which she sent models down the Proenza Schouler fall-winter 2026 runway wearing. As Choi told Allure, “Instead of going straight to very dark shades, people might choose colours that still feel lighter, while capturing the mood of the season.”

These softer, slightly edgy shades were the very colours that caused a stir last autumn when the always ahead-of-the-curve British designer Phoebe Philo showed them on French actress and film director Mati Diop, for her Collection C campaign. The daring but sophisticated alternating shades of cinnamon, pastel yellow, sage green and jelly gray generated column inches everywhere from The New York Times to WWD.

Now, the beauty companies and salons have caught up to Philo, allowing the rest of us to experiment with these flattering shades while Philo, of course, has moved on. This year, the nails in her Collection E campaign are buff, while the fashion changemaker’s clothing line is full of dark cherry reds, inky blues and cognac browns that are being touted as the look for our fingers as we head deeper into fall.

What did I end up doing for the wedding? I’m afraid it wasn’t very daring: I was in a cream and lilac dress that called for subtlety – so I went for the “latte nail” look, a fancy way of saying I chose a beigey nude shade, Berlin There, Doin’ That from OPI’s new Most Requested collection. However, in my defence, latte nails are fall’s other big news, evolving from the “no-manicure manicure” trend. The warm, milky tones of earthy nude, beige, caramel and taupe have been spotted on A-listers from Priyanka Chopra to Victoria Beckham and, in lock-step with my timing, on Jennifer Lopez who was showing off her “chai latte” nails on Instagram this past Labour Day weekend.

Even fashion designer Marc Jacobs, who became known for his talon-like, bedazzled nails, has taken things down a few notches. He recently appeared in Who What Wear’s Manis with Marc series, showing off his nails without acrylics and declaring: “It’s the first time I’ve had a natural nail.” Well, relatively natural: they still featured a multi-coloured “jelly bean” effect, perhaps inspired by the glassy, gradient nails Choi created for Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2027 runway show.

So perhaps there is a lesson in all this for the capricious weeks between summer and fall: you don’t have to go dark just yet. Whether you choose a burnt olive, warm latte or even a little jelly-bean whimsy, now is the moment to ease into the season – one manicure at a time.