I have always taken care of my hands, feet and nails. Good skin care was ingrained in my through the teachings of my mother and her mother before her.
My nails have pretty much always been painted (sometimes times with nothing more than clear coat when I was young.) Red is my favorite color, and really pretty much goes with anything.
Every two weeks for the past three years (since I quit work) I have gone to the salon for a pedi/mani. It's a few hours of pampering and not only do I feel better, but my feet and hands are softer and in better shape because of the investment.
Those of you who have perused my albums, I'm sure have noticed my nails. Some of you go "UGH" and some of you go "OOOOH". For the most part, I would imagine that it would be difficult for you to tell which nails were real and which were fake, simply from the pictures. Yes there are several pictures that have my real nails in them.
My husband loves the "fake" nails because they hold up so much better than my real nails. He also likes that they are even and uniform... (yeah, guess what line of work he is in?) My real nails are not weak, or ugly. And "long" is relative. Looking back on some of my pics ... yes... I would say some of my nails have been a bit too long. I now keep them shorter...looking more realistic.
Color? Oh, that's just a matter of opinion. But you are right when you say if you are going for a bright color that it does affect the wardrobe. I have found that just about every color goes with Black... or White... and when I had the purple nails, I was totally shocked at how many different pieces of clothing I had that matched. (pleasantly surprised)
Most of my "wild" nail colors were done specifically for certain "fun" times. The purple with the artwork on one finger.... Mardi Gras (a trip to New Orleans). Blue and white? Trip to Kentucky. (I'm a sports fan.) I've had Christmas nails (red sparkles), Halloween nails (orange), Winter nails (blue/gray with sparkles), and more. I really don't go for the design on every finger... way too busy for me... but something that adds a bit of "fancy" to it works for me. And only once did my husband say "meh, not a fan" .... the rest... he has loved.
It's all a matter of choice and taste... and... for the record, I dare say I am a high maintenance girl, just b/c I go to the salon and get my nails done... I dig in the dirt and clean toilets and get my hands dirty just like the rest of 'em.
"Sexy" is also a very relative term. Some people find it very sexy and some do not. To each his own.