Yesterday, while out on the golf course, our foursome included a thirty-something oriental woman sporting an intricate lace-like tattoo on her outer, upper thigh. It was hard not to stare. Her golf shorts didn’t cover the pattern and every time she took a shot, I found myself watching her body ink respond to the hit rather than the ball. Shameless? I think of it more as a compliment.
Rounding the 14th green there were some landscapers off in the rough. It appeared they were in the process of clearing the area that later may be incorporated into the course’s greens. The big job of pruning trees took a back seat to their obvious admiration of my golf mate’s tatt. No words were exchanged, just admiring glances.
Long gone is the stigma that tattoos were once associated with drunken sailors and surly inmates. It seems there are tattoo parlors on every block these days. From teens (with parental permission) to grannies, tattoos can be seen on arms, legs and everywhere in-between wherever there are people. We got some interesting data from our friends at Target Digital Marketing that supports the growth of this awesome industry. It used to be a long drawn out process but it’s evident that with enough notice, a significant load of enthusiastic fans can pretty much stop into any sizable parlor and get tattoos same day by some of their local artists at a reasonable price.
What’s trending in tattoos? Like any form of art, it is an ever evolving expression of style and personality. There is no end in sight to the ways we can use tatts as body adornment.
With the warm weather, showing off our bods is natural. We want them to look as awesome as possible and putting the right tatt in the right place does that for us. Getting a permanent tattoo is not for everyone, but looking good is a must.
Tatts are so forefront these days, and there are some great practitioners and even more breathtaking designs than ever before. A lot of thought should go into something that will stay with you for the rest of your life. What is cool this year may be not hold up in a year or two – remember the barbed wire upper arm band or the “tramp stamp”? Not so cool anymore.