Having an Ink Think.

Lou Eyrich (costume designer for Glee) caused headlines a few days ago by revealing her new head tattoo:

I have to say, for once in my talkative life, I didn't quite know what to say. I hesitantly want to say that I do really quite like it, at the same time not being convinced she hasn't just sharpie'd her head.

There are so many things to think about:
- is it real?
- holy moly that would hurt!!!
- does she have to condition it?
- what happens when her hair grows back?!
- regret much?

Tattoos are a such interesting things. I'm not going to pretend I've researched the social history of them because I haven't at all. According to stuff.co.nz, New Zealand is one of the most tattoo'd countries in the world with 1 in 5 having a tat so they are something which I see daily on a large number of the population.

I think that tattoos can be beautiful, whether they mark you out as a member of Yakuza (as shown above) or are just a copy of your favourite art work. They can also be a piece of shit that acts either to display your tattoo artist's poor grammar or just how bad your taste really is.

Now, the image shown above isn't the worst tattoo I've ever seen, (click here to see that one- it's a goodie) but one must consider the connotations of such a tattoo. You clearly aren't classy for starters as any classy person would definitely not have this tattoo. Asides from giving away the fact you are a) a slut and b) stupid, I just cringe at the thought of this on your 85 year old wrinkly breast. It's a cliché I know to say "well won't it look stupid when you're old?!" but it is often a sound piece of advice however in contrast so is "you only live once".

I've been considering getting a tattoo for many years and I'm finding it hard deciding what I want. I am also unsure if I just want one for the sake of having one. Thinking about tattoos makes me feel like I have to choose a visual representation or a quote that I feel defines me and I don't know if I could ever decide on such a thing. A few of my friends have really awesome tattoos. One has a small red leaf tattooed just below her hairline on the back of her neck- the story behind it being that it is the motif from her favourite childhood book. Another friend has the score from the piece of music which "reminds him why he loves music" tattooed down his left forearm. The first friend was an english literature student who is now an actress/poet and the second has a degree in composition. I just don't have something like this in my life, of course I love fashion but lets face it, having a "fashion-themed" tattoo would look shite.

So if I was to get one I think I would get something that reflects my attitude to life but it's hard to not sound/look like a pompous prick. (Apologies just realised there's lots of swearing in this post- I'm hungover.) I've also never had anyone close to me die or gone through any major struggle in my life - which is FANTASTIC- but it does mean that there aren't many profound statements I have to make on the state of the world.

 I find this also comes through when I'm designing.
The things I design are very mainstream, very wearable and not overly original and progressive, I'll be the first to admit that. University doesn't really appreciate mainstream, wearable or unoriginal, so I get a bit disillusioned as the crazy people attaching pompoms to everything are reveling in their creativity. (Disclaimer: I have nothing against pompoms.)

It's late at night and I've ended up confusing myself once again, but for me the crux of the matter is whether you are having a tattoo to say something to the rest of the world about yourself or whether it's just something that you do for your private self. I'm unsure where I sit on this one. I would like to think that I want a tattoo that would be both beautiful and meaningful but I'm not sure that one exists for me. I think I'm too young to know who I am or what I have to say (as this post thoroughly shows haha). I haven't really experienced much of life so don't know what it means. So I am just going to tell my favourite tattoo motivation which belongs to my godmother. On her 50th birthday she went with her 80 year old mother to each get tattooed. She has a red rose on her upper arm and her mother has a butterfly. You couldn't get more clichéd in tattoo choice but their tattoos make me happy. They did it because they wanted to. Not to show people, not to say something profound or show how original they are, but just because they figured it was a life experience that they weren't willing to miss out on. If I don't get a tattoo in the next few years it's unlikely I will get one in the next 50, but I promise that come my 80th birthday, if I am still tattoo-less, I'll be getting a butterfly purely because it will make me laugh. This in itself will be a good way to summarise my life philosophy :)