Studded Nails are Up Next for Spring/Summer 2026

I joke that I’m psychic quite often, but no one doubts my foresight when it comes to on-the-rise nail trends. My finger(tip) is on the pulse of all burgeoning manicure movements before they take over your Pinterest feed, from tiger-stripe nails—just picking up steam now, by the way—to unconventional color combos that pros would back me up on months later. Now that I have your attention, I’m excited to introduce a trend that elevates last year’s polka dot craze into something fresh ahead of summer: Studded nails, as you’ll soon see below.

I first caught a glimpse of this trend last October, when a single image of a manicure rimmed with silver studs popped up on my Pinterest. The look immediately intrigued me, not only because it resembled a handbag I’d just watched Lorelai Gilmore swing around on my TV (I was doing my annual fall re-watch of Gilmore Girls, okay!), but because it felt like a cooler and edgier way to wear polka dots than the countless ways I’d seen celebrities show them off online.

Thankfully, I had a nail appointment at Vanity Projects in New York’s Lower East Side lined up, and I promptly presented her with both photos. (The manicure inspo shot and a picture I snapped of Lorelai on my screen, of course.) From there, we came up with my silver-flecked, pale yellow manicure—a look that I saw surge again this spring, this time in multitudes. Keep scrolling for the full trend digest.

Studded Nail Ideas to Try Before Summer 2026

Disco Dandelion

Though I got these nails in the fall, this butter yellow hue feels especially fitting for the spring and summer. To form psuedo studs, my manicurist placed individual flat discs onto my nails with a small amount of gel to keep everything in place, curing them along the way. After sealing the look with a gel top coat, we were left with this glassy, effortlessly cool manicure that works year-round.