I think big, flashy, in-your-face (or on-your-face) tattoos might be going out of style, but I’m seeing a lot more people in my age group (I just turned 30), women especially, getting smaller tattoos in less readily visible places as mementos or personal statements.
I got my first long before it was fashionable, and got my most recent ink as a 55th BD gift to myself. The only ones I sorta regret are my knees. Due to vitiligo, my knees sunburn easily while kayaking. I had some “flesh-tone” ink put in. It hurt far worse than average, and mostly faded. Still need my SPF 50.
I’m pretty heavily tattooed in a very conservative field. My larger pieces don’t show at work. I would have no way of knowing how many people I encounter each day are tattooed under their suits, button downs, dresses, and uniforms. Tattooing has a long history throughout the world. I doubt it will ever completely go away.
My uncle, who’s in his 70s, has a large scar on his forearm, and when I was a little kid, I asked him about it as youngsters will do. He said, “I had a tattoo removed!” and his whole demeanor said, “NEVER get one.” Back then, there was no such thing as laser removal, so he had to have the skin completely cut off and replaced with a skin graft. :eek: I’ve never found out what that tattoo was.
Around here, it seems that full-sleeve (heck, full-BODY) tattoos are a NECESSITY to get a job. :rolleyes: I’ve been told more than once by such a person that they weren’t going to hire me because I was overqualified. :mad:
I know a dermatologist who does tattoo removals, and it’s the one thing where she demands cash payment up front. Most of her work is actually pro bono, mostly on ex-convicts and people leaving gangs, so they can “go straight” and get jobs. 
p.s. A couple weeks ago, I saw a middle-aged woman wearing a halter top, and she had the most impressive mural on her back. She obviously wanted people to see it, or she wouldn’t have been dressed that way.
Old people don’t give a fuck about what young people think about the way they look.
Let’s not kid ourselves. There is an element of fashion in tattoos. If everyone was simply deciding on an individual basis whether or not they wanted a tattoo with no outside influence, then the percentage of people getting tattoos would stay pretty much the same decade after decade.
But this isn’t what’s happened. The number of people getting tattoos rose sharply in the last twenty years. It’s not a new technology so the most likely explanation for this increase is a lot of people decided to get a tattoo because other people were getting them.
I intended to get a tattoo on my 30th birthday, but got thrown out of the tattoo shop…long story, but it really was not my fault.
Tattoos have always had sort of a dangerous, bad boy/girl image that was both sexy and cool…but I think over the years, this has sort of changed into a fashion statement. I think the “tramp stamp” was the first of the “oops” tattoos that many women later regretted getting, and for guys they might not be so in love with those barbed wire or tribal tattoos that seemed really edgy at the time…
It is not that tattoos per se are a “fad”, but many of the tattoos people get are more of a fashion trend that might not be quite so fashionable over the years. It was cool in the 40’s to get an anchor tattoo - especially if you were in the Navy - but now you would look like Popeye. We don’t have to mention the error of tattooing your current lover’s name, or - as I once saw in my gym - some guy tattooing the super cool, brand new logo from the Batman movie on his arm in the black and yellow.
The trick would be to find some design that perhaps will always be somewhat in style during your lifetime - but good luck with that, especially if you get one on the spur of the moment, while perhaps a bit tipsy, at the age of 18, in a tattoo shop on some foreign wharf…chance are that ain’t gonna be a piece of art in a few years.
This, absolutely. And remember, kids, no tattoo improves with age. They last longer these days, but there will come a day when they all become blue blurs.
I’ve read that people should NEVER tattoo the name of a living person anywhere on their body, and memorial or commemorative tattoos should not be done until at least 5 years after the event took place.
Corporate or rock band logos, at least in a visible place, are a no-no too.
That’s okay. No human body improves with age, either.
I’ve seen two new tattoo places opened up since the beginning of summer, in addition to the ones that have been there forever. Nail palaces, doggy day care centers, and tattoo parlors seem to be thriving. Gas stations, restaurants, antique shops, tropical fish stores, and small shops selling specialty foods, clothing, and jewelry - businesses large and small - are closing left and right because of the economy. But you can have a tramp stamp and long claws put on your fingers while your dog is socializing with his friends. I don’t get it, but whatever, its making someone money. I have a friend who huffs, “I would never get a tattoo, that cute little cherry on my boob would turn into an apple someday, when I’m old.” and I think, the lack of a tattooed cherry is somehow going to make your ancient boob more enticing???
The only exception here is children’s names. It’s very common for people to tattoo their kid’s names.
The whole “Those are going to look so bad when you’re 80” thing is so tired. If you have a fair amount of body art, chances are you’ve heard that phrase, or something similar, a million times. When I’m 80 I am going to look …uh, like I’m 80. If a wrinkled tattoo bothers you, don’t look.
Two years ago the New York Islanders signed an agreement to have an official tattoo shop and have hockey fans get tattoos and piercings at several home games. Right in the corridor with the other vendors. Don’t know if they still have it or if anyone else does. But like shoeshine boys giving stock market tips, you figure it has reached its peak.
This. Tattoos are thousands of years old; they are a fashion that will come and go and come back again.
Personally I suspect the Future of Tattoos will be some kind of electronic ink that can be reconfigured as desired. Set it to flesh tone to make yourself look completely unmarked, then later you can make yourself into the Illustrated (Wo)Man. Animated tattoos are a likely possibility as well.
No, no, I’m sorry, but that won’t do at all. I’m going to have to insist on your sharing the details with everyone.
::curls up on the chair in anticipation of an interesting story::
Hang on, willya? Let me run some popcorn through the microwave before you start.
:: hope it’s not some wussy story where he told the needle jockey “Let me see your autoclave first.” ::
You want the story…here it is.
I was living in West Berlin (back when the Wall was still up) and had been wanting to get a tattoo for quite some time. At the time, there were only two decent tattoo parlors in all of West Berlin and I decided to go to the best of the two. (Friends had told me the other guy was sort of new and his tattoos were hit or miss at best…)
Another American friend, a woman, heard of my plans and decided she wanted to get a tattoo as well. She is a fun woman to be around, but let’s just say she isn’t exactly easy to be around. So I said, “Sure - come on along.”
Off we went…got there about 7:00 PM or so, and my woman friend had carried a book of Japanese art and wanted to get a specific design tattooed on her inner thigh. She was chatting with the tattoo artist.
I was over in the corner, going the the book of tattoos he has available - I pretty much had settled on a rather large eagle - not a US eagle or German eagle from those flags - a more generic, but nice version.
I hear a rather animated conversation on the other side of the room between my friend and the tattoo artist:
“This is that tattoo I want.”
“No - that will not turn out well.”
“I am paying - this is what I want…”
“There is too much of a solid yellow area in the middle, and that will not turn out well and look bad after a few years.”
“I am the customer…”
"And I am the artist and I don’t tattoo crap on people…
"I insist you do this…
“No way…get the hell out of my shop and never come back!” and then he turned to me and said, “And you too!”
I had not said a peep the whole time we were there, and now the tattoo artist was royally pissed off at both of us and tossed us out the door and shut down the shop.
The moment had passed - I wanted the tattoo on my 30th birthday and it didn’t happen - and although I thought at some point I would just go to another tattoo artist and get one - it just never seemed to happen and that was that.
I gather he was a tattoo artiste.
They’re extremely popular in the military. Probably more than 50% of the enlisted guys I see have them, and I see no sign of waning interest (though I wish I did).
They aren’t allowed to be visible when you’re in dress uniform. Which, I suppose, means a lot of women GI’s prefer to wear slacks with their dress uniform.