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"Tonight is the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala, otherwise known as fashion's biggest fete of the year. The theme this year is designer Charles James. Wait. Charles who? You might have not heard of him, but James (1906\u20131978) was one of America's first and finest couturiers. So fine, in fact, that Christian Dior called him \\\"the greatest talent of my generation,\\\" while Crist\u00F3bal Balenciaga considered James \\\"the only one in the world who has raised dressmaking from an applied art to a pure art.\\\" James dressed ladies like Marlene Dietrich, burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, and Standard Oil heiress Millicent Rogers, and he is credited with inventing the infinity scarf and the wrap dress\u2014and introducing the A-line coat ten years before Yves Saint Laurent. However, he is best known for the Four-Leaf Clover\u2014a gown constructed from 30 pattern pieces (and which looked like a four-leaf clover from above, hence the name). To celebrate tonight's big bash, celebrity manicurist Madeline Poole created a nail -art look for allure.com inspired by Charles James's most famous design. Thankfully, it requires fewer than 30 pieces.\\n\\n\\n\\n                   \\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n[#image: /photos/57719db22554df47220a5c77]||||||\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n__Step one:__ Paint your nails with two coats of nude polish. Poole used __Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Shore Enough.__\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n[#image: /photos/57719dc13b5256713da4abbf]||||||\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n__Step two:__ Starting on your middle finger, use a black striping brush, like __Orly Instant Artist in Jet Black,__ to make a thin line in an upside-down-arch shape on the lower half of your nail. Using that line as your guide, carefully thicken and even it out until the line is about three or four millimeters thick (about the width of a standard nail -polish brush).\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n[#image: /photos/57719db22554df47220a5c76]||||||\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n__Step three:__ Next, paint the tips of your pointer and ring fingers. You can achieve this with either a striping brush or a standard black nail polish, depending on your nail-art skills. Begin on the side of the nail and swoop in a slow, curving motion toward the middle of the nail. Repeat on the opposite side, then fill in the shape in the middle to create a smooth rounded tip.\\n\\n\\n\\n__Disclaimer:__ Allow the polish to dry for a full ten minutes before applying the topcoat. This will prevent the black details from streaking.\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  __RELATED LINKS:__\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  \u2022 [Look We Love: Brooke Candy's Opulent Nail Art](http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2014/05/brooke-candy-opulent-nail-art.html)\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  \u2022 [View From the Red Carpet: Dressing for the Met Ball (Easier Said Than Done)](http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2014/04/finding-white-tie-formal-wear-for-met-ball.html)\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  \u2022 [Nail Trend Alert: The New Neons](http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2014/04/nail-trend-alert-the-new-neons.html)"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.allure.com/story/nail-ideas-charles-james-nail-art>