By Leeann Duggan & Lauren Perlstein, Refinery29
Fashionable folks change their style like some people change their socks. But, a tattoo is forever — so you know there must be some pretty great stories behind that ink. So, we rounded up our favorite stylish people and got them to spill on their epic chest pieces, T. rex tats, and college-party stick-and-pokes — and, boy, did they have tales to tell.
From getting inked in a Tibetan refugee camp and tattoos that almost caused a breakup to tributes to childhood homes and favorite basketball players alike, the accounts ahead are the real crazy stories behind the art. Plus, they also touch on all the parental grumbling that ensued…
“I have a variety of tattoos ranging from traditional to obscure and quite a few stick-and-pokes. I have around 30, so describing each one would be a bit extensive. When people ask me to describe my tattoos, I’m like, ‘Do you have a few hours?’”
“I got my first tattoo when I was 16. I wasn’t old enough to get it on my own, so I had to have my mother’s consent. She agreed to do it as long as I promised her not to get any more. I obviously didn’t keep that promise. My first was five stars as a tramp stamp. I had this great meaning behind each of the stars, but I honestly don’t remember them now. Now, I just have a five-star ass. Haha!”
“I think my most [aesthetically pleasing] tattoo is my pineapple on my arm. It’s just beautiful. But, my favorite would have to be my ‘Can’t touch this’ belly rocker. It’s just so funny.“
“I definitely wouldn’t recommend tattoos to people who don’t like standing out. The other day at the airport, I was stopped by a couple who asked me to pose for photos with them because of all my ‘crazy tattoos.’ My pet peeve would definitely be that people seem to think that tattoos are a reason to touch you. I hate when people grab my arm and start rubbing all of my tattoos. Gross. I don’t do that to you, do I?
“But, I do plan to get many more. I’m currently planning a back piece. I gave up on the idea of saving space years ago. I love tattoos. I want to be covered.”
Lani Lee, photographer
“My tattoos are pieces of art I’ve collected from artists I admire and close friends. Some of them have personal meaning for me, like my mother’s portrait done by Tim Hendricks and the little graveyard on my ankle by Bert Krak. Those tattoos were like therapy.
“The tattoos I get most excited about are the little ones, especially if I’m getting them with someone. I have a few dates, initials, funny sayings, ‘friend’ tattoos, and lots of ‘love’ tattoos. I have a little camera on my knuckle. It’s my favorite! I love what I do, and it’s a tiny, little reminder.”
“Working in New York and L.A., tattoos are a positive. But, I like doing nonprofit work and travel-documentary stuff, and sometimes I feel too exposed. I want to blend in and be respectful of other cultures, so I cover up as best I can, including my neck and head, if it’s appropriate. Yes, my tattoos are a part of me, but they are not the color of my skin — they were and are a choice. So, I feel it’s my responsibility to be respectful with how and when I choose to display them.”
“I hid all of my tattoos for a long time. But, my family has given up at this point and are just happy that I’m happy and that getting tattooed is my worst vice. My mother has come all the way around and can even find the beauty in some of them now.
“My advice to anyone thinking of getting a tattoo? If your artist tells you no, it might be for a really good reason.”
“For many years, I lived and worked in the Middle East and Asia as a photojournalist and news producer. I collected art from every country and region I visited. Many of those pieces were then translated into tattoos.”
“Inside my left arm I have some Tibetan script. I used to live in a Tibetan refugee community in Nepal. When I was moving back to the U.S., my friends had local monks perform a naming ceremony for me and gave me a Tibetan name as a going-away gift. Afterward, the same friends gave me a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and told me to drink it because now we were going to get the name tattooed on me so I would never forget them. I vaguely remember the tattoo artist taking a needle out of a glass jar of that blue liquid that barbers keep their combs in. I had learned the Nepali word for pain from an earlier incident that I will NOT share here, and I remember mumbling it to the tattoo artist as he hammered into my arm. It isn’t the prettiest tattoo I have, but it is the most meaningful to me.
“I have some additional tattoo work to do, and, luckily, I have been working with Chris O’Donnell, who is one of the best tattoo artists in the world, for the past few years on the rest of my plans.”
“In 1994, I was 18 and deeply involved in the Hare Krishna hard-core music movement. I hung out at the temple on the Lower East Side and interned at a Hare Krishna record label. I found an outline of a stylized lotus flower in a book at the temple and Xeroxed the page. I went to a place called Mackenzie’s Tattoo in Carmel, NY, since tattooing was still illegal in NYC and got it inked on my leg. I remember my mom not being all that psyched on that one.”
Lori Leven, owner of Love Adorned and New York Adorned
“I started getting tattooed when I was 17 years old and am still getting them. My first tattoo was a butterfly on my hip that I got because, years earlier, I had seen a woman on the beach at Fire Island who had an impossibly chic little butterfly on her hip. And, oh boy, did that butterfly cause a ruckus in my family.”
“Being in the industry for most of my adult life, it’s easy to get pieces on a whim or to wax poetically with an artist long term over the finer points. Or, sometimes, maybe a bunch of friends go back to the tattoo shop to all tattoo each other, even though only half of us are tattooers…
“I have a lot of cool Daniel Higgs tattoos, but I would have to say my favorite is a Fire Horse done by Horizakura, who works with us at New York Adorned.”
“My pet peeve is when strangers think it’s okay to touch you to feel what tattooed skin feels like. There have been times when mothers pull their children away from me, saying, ‘Leave the nice, tattooed lady alone,’ and times where people want to know every detail of your life. Which is worse?
“I think it’s important that people think long and hard about how their design choice will grow with them over the years. You are always better to pick a classic design in whatever your preferred style is, so that years down the line, when you’re shaking your child’s teacher’s hand during the PTA meeting or trying to talk a co-op board into letting you into their world, it doesn’t become a sore spot for you. Simple is always best.”
DaMonica Boone, fashion assistant at Allure magazine
“I got ‘L’Amour de Dieu,’ which is French for ‘The love of God,’ when I was 20. I took French for four years and became obsessed with the language and culture. I got the tattoo right before I left to study abroad in London. It was one of the hardest times in my life because I was unsure as to what was going to happen to me once I got on the plane, but I knew in my heart that God would keep me safe and secured. I got the tattoo to remind me of his love.”
“My best friend of 10 years and I always wanted a matching tattoo. I moved away from home at 22, so we decided to get something then. She’s a very religious person, so we settled on the word mercy, because we both believe God continues to bless us, even though we haven’t been the most holy.
“My favorite tattoo is the kitty on my pinky. It represents the nickname my late grandfather gave me as a child, which is Moni Cat, because he always thought my eyes resembled those of a cat. My grandfather helped turn me into the young woman I am today, and he will always be missed. The tattoo reminds me that he’s always with me.”
“I have an open heart around each nipple that I got when I was 22. I’ve been insecure about my A-cup breasts — that often feel like AA cups — since they started to sprout at age 12. It took my last semester in college for me to realize that I was beautiful as is. The hearts are daily reminders for me to love myself just the way I am.
“Also at 22, I got a feather on my front rib. I have a degree in journalism and am a freelance style and beauty writer, which is my passion. The feather represents my freedom with words and myself as a writer, and it symbolizes a quill pen.”
Bethany Brill, freelance hair and makeup artist
“I got my first on St. Marks Place when I was 19. I had just moved to NYC and was itching to do something rebellious. I got a few more super-simple ones over the next couple years but didn’t really start getting tattooed until my brother ordered a machine and started tattooing his own legs. I was pretty bored that summer and thought, ‘Whoa, that looks so cool.’ So, I let him start practicing on me.”
“The girl head is one of my favorites. It was done by my brother, Jordan Brill, who is no longer a bedroom wizard but a super-legit, clean, and talented tattooer in L.A. She’s beautiful and spooky, which is always a good combination. Another one of my favorites is the hand of knives by Matt Bivetto. He saw I was a hairstylist and drew this up, à la Edward Scissorhands.”
“I got into it really quickly. I used to wake up, walk to my brother’s house, and pick out a design. He had a ton of cool flash books from the ‘40s and ‘50s. I would get something about once a week. My friends were like, ‘Um, another one?!’ I was like, ‘Guys, calm down, it’s not like it’s permanent.’
“My mom was surprisingly into it. She loves color and cute things, so I think I won her over.”
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