Guest Post: Tattoos And Fashion

When did people's opinions of tattoos change? When did they move on from being associated with sailors, convicts, gang member and unruly beings? When did they become more than scum and when did they become cool, accepted and even fashionable? These are the questions when it comes to tattoos and fashion. 

Tattoos have actually been around for centuries, the earliest examples dating back to 6000BC on a South American Chinchorro Mummy in Peru. (Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo#History) It wasn't however until 1769 aboard Captain Cook's voyage to the pacific that tattoos became largely recognised.  It was this journey that brought his men face to with native Polynesians who tattooed each other's bodies with exquisite patterns.  Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist on the ship began to question such motives and even found himself experimenting with the idea. On the return home Banks and other members of the crew found themselves sporting some of the Polynesian patterns and in turn set a trend amongst other sailors. It became common for sea men to have the likes of anchors, snakes, hula girls, ships and turtles inked onto their skin whilst sailing or at the ports where some of the first tattoo parlours were emerging. As well as sailors tattoos became common amongst convicts, prostitutes and gang members but they were frowned upon by others and were thought to be the marks of unruly people. 

How times have changed since then, today tattoos are seen almost every day on people of all kinds of backgrounds, nationalities and ages. It has taken us some time to get to this point as not many years have gone by since they were frowned upon in businesses and on women. Although some businesses still don't allow tattoos, particularly if they are on show many have shown a tolerance for them and some even thrive off them. Tattoos are fitting in artistic surroundings where people paint, sculpt and draw and a person's personality and vibe can reflect greatly on how somebody with tattoos is seen. This doesn't mean to say that if you are none artistic tattoos aren't for you.

It is quite common to see cat walk models such as Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn and Kate Moss showing off their collections of body art and famous faces including David Beckham, Marc Jacobs, Lady Gaga and Rihanna all have tattoos for us to see. Tattoos have become something for us to look at and have become as much of a statement as the clothes we wear. The media go crazy for tattoos as do fashion labels looking to stand out and leave a lasting impression. 

Tattoos allow a person to express themselves and give other a sneaky snippet of what they are about. A lot can be learned about a person through the ink they wear as tattoos are often meaningful telling a story about a person. They are particularly expressive for cat walk models as the tattoo allows people to see them as more than the designer's vision. Without the ability to smile, choose their own makeup or walk how they want to walk the tattoo gives them the ability to self-express and share something personal to them with the rest of the world.  

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