French nails was coined in 1975 by a Los-Angeles based Orly International. As for their reason, it could be anything really. Plus the fact that the “French” description can easily mean class and big bucks. That could be the two reasons that I could personally think of, given the fact that the particular nail fashion has absolutely nothing to do with France or the French people, aside from its borrowed name. If there’s anything, this classic nail fashion has been tested through decades of existence. It is still considered classy and elegant up to this day and age.
Its clean and yet polished look makes it a stand out. It seems as if all things French can easily get away with anything. Think about fashion and food for instance. From all those strange but adorable haute couture fashion to those yummy transfat laden fries.