Old School Tattoo Designs - What Do You Need to Know?
FAMILIARITYPeople who have been inked with old school tattoos have them for lots of reasons. For some, they reaffirm a symbol of contentment (e.g. their family, friends or job). Therefore, there is a sense of familiarity and security from such tattoos. For other people, the marking demonstrates that they are part of a particular group.
The majority of the old school tattoo designs are bright, fun and colorful. Because of this, lots of people wear them because they are good fun.
IRONY AND THE HERE AND NOW
At the present time, many people who decide to have old school tattoos do so in an ironic fashion. However, this need not always be the case. Being inked with a traditional tattoo on your lower back is a great way of combining then and now - the design may be traditional, but the place on the body pulls the design up to date.
NOSTALGIA
Old school designs also carry with them nostalgia. Maybe the wearer had favorite novels or tv shows growing up which introduced them to a individual with a specific tattoo; perhaps the wearer wishes to link themselves with a specific faction or period from history.
BIRDS
Tattoos of birds are becoming more popular now. There has been a move towards more tribal symbols over recent years, but birds provide a rich source for ideas. They can be located in the middle of your lower back facing forwards if you would prefer a mirror-image tattoo design, or placed slightly off-centre to show a magnificent plunge; it is up to you to fiddle with the ideas to decide on one you are passionate about. A flying eagle demonstrates vigour and valour, and a blue swallow signifies a homecoming and life.
THE SEVEN SEAS
Nautical designs are popular. They include anchors, stars and mermaids, to reference just a few. Anchors are a brilliant inclusion due to their curved aspect. In addition, it is possible to have initials (preferably yours in the event of relationship-breakdown!) included in the tattoo design. In addition, stars are brilliant, as they can be in any format to trace the roundness of your lower back. A mermaid is perfect way of emphasizing your femininity, and exploiting the long hair of the mermaid to enclose the base of your back.
A TOUCH OF DEATH
There are also heaps of macabre tattoos you might want to consider. The most extreme would be the bare skull. It symbolizes danger and death. Maybe you could include some ribbons to make it more fun? Also, the grim-reaper is becoming popular, though there is no reason to not personalize that one too. In addition, there are the normal dagger and barbed-wire designs. Paradoxically, a tattoo design which incorporates barbed wire would be perfect for your lower back given the curved nature of the wire.
A SPOT OF LOVE
Adoration is a popular design used in tattoos, whether of the heart itself or someone's name or of a petal. Good luck is symbolized through a horseshoe.
A RICH SOURCE OF IDEAS
There are heaps of old school tattoo designs around, so take a fair bit of time to research and decide which ones you are drawn to, then maybe consider whether you want to alter it to make it ideal for yourself.
Old School Tattoos - Why The Popularity?
Why the rise in popularity? How did they start and who are the original tattoo artists that brought these bold, bright tattoo designs to us?
If you follow tattooing back to the first part of the century, you will find a few incredibly talented, wonderfully colorful characters. Top among these fine characters is "Sailor Jerry". Story goes, Sailor Jerry began his career traveling around the country on freight trains and tattooing the drifters. He joined the Navy at 19 and sailed the Pacific. If you look at Sailor Jerry's artwork, you can see the influence of Southeast Asia. Sailor Jerry's images have bold deep outlines, bold blocks of color, and large, oversized images.
Old School Tattoo Designs include imagery of stars, hearts and daggers. There are anchors, and nautical themes. What we now would say is "pirate imagery" are all found in Old School Tattoos. Beautiful, busty pin-up girls, suggestive women, skeletons, and skulls. Hearts with daggers through them and roses with massive thorns and ribbons, in bold bright colors with deep outlining. Everything that we now would consider "vintage" is included in the imagery of Old School Tattoos. They have almost a whimsical and animated quality.
Two of Sailor Jerry's students, Ed Hardy and Mike Malone have been extremely influential in keeping interest in, and reviving the Old School Tattoo Designs. Ed Hardy and Mike Malone both use the bold patterns and the bright colors typical in Old School Tattoos. Images are outlined and you can see the Asian influence in the design.
When Sailor Jerry died, he left instructions that one of his students, Ed Hardy or Mike Malone, could buy his tattoo shop in Hawaii. Mike Malone took the offer and with the purchase of the shop, he also got all of Sailor Jerry's artwork. That artwork, or "flash" can now be seen on tattoo shop walls all across America.
Don Ed Hardy, on the other hand, exploded his popularity and brought Old School Tattoo designs to the main stream by licensing his artwork to Christian Audigier. Ed Hardy Designs was formed and Christian Audigier began incorporating the artwork into fashion. This was the first time tattoo design and tattoo artwork has made it to the runways of Paris, New York and Italy. Ed Hardy artwork and tattoo design could now be seen on Rock Stars and Celebrities alike. The Beautiful Old School Tattoo Designs were now part of mainstream culture and highly sought after.
Maybe another reason for the rise in popularity of Old School Tattoos is the simple fact that we have a fascination with "vintage" What's old is new. This happens in fashion all the time. How many times have you heard people say, "I had those gym shoes in 7th grade", or "That blouse is in my moms attic". From brands like Puma, Nike, P.F. Flyers to Levi, there is always a vintage look or design just around the corner. Old School Tattoos are the "vintage" of the tattoo world. They are also the brightest, most colorful, quirky, kitschy and whimsical tattoo designs. If you are looking for a "vintage" look in your tattoo design, beautiful busty pin-up girls, colorful funky skulls, pierced hearts, fat roses with ribbon sayings, check out the Old School Tattoos. And here is a piece of advice from the infamous Lyle Tuttle: "Don't put anyone's name on your tattoo. They are not going to be around forever. Just put "Sweetheart" and call them ALL "Sweetheart"."
Try an Old School Tattoo Design
It seems like everything old is new again in just about every part of life. Tattoo design is no different. Many of the old school tattoo designs are showing back up in ink on people everywhere. Some of the old school tattoo designs that you see around are more like an homage to the original design, reminiscent of the first designs. But other tattoos are very faithful to the original design, exactly what you might have seen on someone leaving a tattoo shop in the 1940s.
One of the most common old school tattoo designs showing up is that of a pinup girl. The tattoo image was commonly seen in posters that were sent to soldiers and sailors during WWII. They were supposed to remind the soldiers who they were fighting for. Betty Grable was probably the most famous of the pinup girls. The posters weren't what we would consider sexy now, but they were pretty hot back in the day. In the early to mid 1900s, most of the people who were getting tattoos were in the military, so it wasn't a big surprise that there were a lot of tattoos of pinup girls.
One surprise that people might get about who is getting old school tattoo pinup girl designs is that more and more women are getting them. Some women are getting tattoos of themselves as a pin up girl. The women who choose to do this say that they are empowering themselves, and to take back their sexuality. Others do get the pinup girl ink just because they like the design. Of course, there are also men who get pinup girl tattoos. There are a multitude of reasons that they get their ink. Some men get their girlfriend's or wife's pictures done as a pinup girl, because they love that person and want to have her with them always. Others, because they like a design.