Yeah, tattoos fade - that’s why you get a touch-up. Tattoos need to be worked on periodically to keep them looking good, and anyone serious about them understands this.
The youngest person I know with a Stray Cats tattoo is 22. They’re still very well known, and not just in the Rockabilly scene. Also, it’s a great design.
I waited until I was 25 to get my first tatt. I had always wanted one since I was a teen, but knew I would get something stupid, so waited until I was ready to make a lifelong commitment to a design. My first tatt was an anklet on my left ankle, my own design. I have since gotten three more, each bigger than the last. I am working on #5, but even with my artist giving a flat fee ( = discount), it will cost over $1,000 so it may be a couple more years before I can give up that amount of cash. I’m 40 now - and female. All of mine are coverable, in the summer of course the anklet is easily seen, and my sea dragon peeks out from under short sleeves.
I think the quality and placement of the artwork says a lot about someone. Obvious amateur work always makes the wearer look like an idiot. Names and portraits should be verboten unless the person is dead, IMO. I’ve only seen a couple of tatts above the shoulder that seemed OK, and they definitely weren’t those stupid cursive names. If what’s on the neck is part of a larger, beautifully done piece, I would think more positively about it.
Definitely don’t get a rose tattoo of any kind, IMO. They’re so common, even if it’s your own design it will look like flash. And flash is the LAST thing you want on your body!
This is excellent advice. My friend’s husband is a tattoo artist, and when people are asking about getting their 1st tat, he’ll work out a design with them, and then prints several copies of it. He tells them to put them around in places where they’ll see it all the time; on the desk, taped to the bathroom mirror, on the fridge, on top of the TV and even in the car. Give it a couple of months and see if you still like it.
Getting a temporary henna version is a good idea, too.
An excellent point/counterpoint from the Red vs. Blue guys
Personally, I never thought I would get a tattoo, but I had something happen of deep personal significance which I thought it was important to remind myself of on a daily basis. Even then I waited for months to make sure I still felt the same way.
I’m not saying your design doesn’t look cool, but if that’s your only reason for getting it then I’d advise against it. Your tastes and personal style may change, and there are a lot of other, non-permanent ways you can distinguish yourself.
I believe that serious tattoo enthusiasts understand this. I was talking about people like those in that regrets show. I doubt that such people realize that they’re going to need to do maintenance on the tattoo to keep it looking nice. Anyone who was serious about tattoos would have enough sense not to tattoo the name of some guy they’d been dating for a few months, but it still happens.
So you’d suggest a tattoo of a fusion-powered bio-dome, or a pair of hover-slippers?
Heh. I get what you’re saying, but clubs/clubbing aren’t a requirement of “goth culture”*. I’d say your age separations apply to any club at all (goth club, frat/sorority club, techno club, top 40 club, etc) and it’s due to having a full time job, possibly a family and other time commitments and interests that make going to a club not how they want to spend their diminished free time anymore.
I know a lot of “elder goths” (have been around since the late 70s/early 80s, usually) in their 40s-50s. They don’t go to clubs, no, but they definitely exist.
[sub]I apparently give off a Goth Vibe no matter what I do. Sure, in high school I had black eyeliner, tons of silver jewelry, velvet and so on. But pretty steadily, I have people tell me that when they first met me, they “thought you were one of them goths”, even though I’d be in, say, an office environment wearing standard business casual stuff. I don’t even stick to all or mostly black, either![/sub]
- heh heh, I always find it funny when a subculture gets called a “culture”, “lifestyle”, or what have you. I mean, technically I guess it IS, but IME people who use the phrase are either 1- total outsiders who take it far too seriously (usually considering it dangerous or threatening) or 2- people in the subculture who take it waaaaaaay too seriously, where most other members roll their eyes at them.