To my friend Shiv, an art teacher from Kent and originally from a lower class background, the shift of middle class women now opting for acrylics is evident, especially among her colleagues. "It’s funny because a teacher of the local prep school gets her nails done and when I saw them it did take me aback because I thought, Hang on, you’re a middle class white woman. I first got acrylics in 1997 when I was 18. We didn’t grow up with money and my dad was very working class from Scotland. I lived in Lewisham, southeast London, and it was a thing to get your nails done. But I have noticed over the years that because I work in a 'posh school' now, I have received negative comments – especially from teachers. Once, the headteacher popped into my classroom to talk to me about something, and when he commented on my nails, I just got the feeling that he felt I was tacky."