Thinking about a tattoo, but is it what good girls did in the 1940's?

[Miss Brill]

My mother got her ears pierced after she was married (1966), and my father told her it was "against his better judgment". He got that line of thinking from his mom. @@ She didn't think ladies needed any kind of adornment like that. Whatever, Nana.

My mother & grandmother never pierced their ears either--but my aunt was a 1950s bad girl & she did. lol I wasn't allowed to get mine done until I was 13. I felt incomplete without doing it.

 

[Decobelle]

I got a tattoo when I was 18... and regretted it almost at once, because it was soon after that I realized the look I really wanted to achieve was 1940s Hollywood - Bette Davis, Myrna Loy style. I personally felt that the tattoo detracted from an authentic period look. Of course, I had to get it right on my upper arm. I could cover it up for the most part, but it limited my clothing choices (no sleeveless dresses, unless I could get one with a bolero). I finally had it zapped away by laser 8-9 years ago and only wished I had done it sooner. The process was very painful! Kind of like being burned with splashing bacon grease while simultaneously having someone snap a rubber-band on my arm at close range. But I thought worth it! I would put myself in the vintage *glamour girl purist* category, so that is just how I feel about it for myself.

 

[melbournian]

I'm glad I didn't get a tattoo. I wanted one of those old style red roses on the back of my upper right shoulder and was planning on getting it done for my 21st last October, but decided not to in the end, and I'm glad I did. I was reading about a lady getting her tatt removed and it looked like a long (18 months+) and painful (not to mention expensive!) process. Still, with that Freedom 2 ink coming out I may consider it yet...

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

Well my late, glamorous granny had her ears pierced as a teenager, in the late 30s. She was definitely a good girl, though she was also a teenage beauty queen. She took my mum to get hers done too, in the 50s.

 

[Lil' Miss A]

Each to their own.

The reason i haven't had one is because i do WW2 re-enactment, but if something you want to do, go for it!

 

[Miss Brill]

Well my late, glamorous granny had her ears pierced as a teenager, in the late 30s. She was definitely a good girl, though she was also a teenage beauty queen. She took my mum to get hers done too, in the 50s.

My family lived in Tennessee, which is like a whole other planet. lol

 

[Miss 1940's]

Thanks Darlings for your comments, I still want one but I think I am going to hold out for it right now.I was just mesmerized by my cousins tattoo of a varga girl

 

[Miss 1929]

I never did...

I think tattoos are one of the only things I never did!

I just couldn't do it - I felt that if I could see it, I would get sick of it, and if I couldn't, what would be the point?

I did get to be Lydia the Tattooed Lady for a big corporate party once, It was a party for GM car salesman, with a Barbary Coast Sideshow theme. All I wore were tiny bloomers, a corset, a HUGE hat and high heels. I was "tattooed" all over everywhere by three women dressed as gypsies as I stood on a fancy chair in a room lined with mirrors - easily one of my more surreal experiences. And the guys at the party were awful, really pushy, until my friend the fire eater came to my rescue. What a night!
Bad part, I got home and there was no film in the camera (pre-digital dark ages).

 

[Cherry_Bombb]

Lady Randolph, not only had a tattoo of a snake around her wrist, which she covered when the need arose with a specially crafted diamond bracelet...

I have really delicate script tattooed across both of my wrists 1" above my wrist bones. I love it. It doesn't distract from me on a daily basis, but when I feel the need to, I do cover it up with some really pretty shell bracelets my grandmother bought for me in Hawaii. Or, if I decide to wear gloves or go bracelet free, there are tattoo covering makeups. I don't regret these ones, but I hate the frog on my back, the one that noone sees! Luckily it's below my natural waistline so my pants for the most part cover it up w/o a problem.

I guess what I'm saying is, there are options for tattoo coverage, no matter where you get it- if you get it. But there's no guarantee that you're going to like it, no matter where you put it, or even that you can cover it up when you like. My best advice is to think about it. My dad told me that if I thought about that tattoo every day for a year and still wanted it after that year was over, than it was probably ok. I thought about my script tattoos and I still love them. The frog was done on a whim, and I've regretted it since I was 20.

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

The vast majority of people that I know who have been tattooed for 10 years or more, regret it. I know of one lady who is a knockout, but can't get any more modeling work done because she is typecast with her tattoos.

Oh and laser removal? It hurts worse than the actual tattoo itself times a million. My laser technician tells me everytime I see her how painful it is. I only had my legs lasered and it hurts like holy hell.

You are young and in 5 years you will be more evolved as a person than you are now. You may not want/like the same things in 5 years.

 

[zaika]

for the record...i've been tattooed 10+ years and don't regret it one bit.
but tattoos aren't for everyone. if you hesitate at getting one, don't get it. easy as that.

 

[RetroBabydoll]

All of my friends have tattoos, but then again they are more on the Rockabilly side. As for me.......personally.....I prefer not to have a tattoo. I don't know why, but I don't like the fact that it is permanent. I wouldn't want to hide my skin with some ink. I love it on guys where you can't really tell they have them like a half sleeve or something on their back/chest.

Make sure if you do get one it's for the right reason. Not the....I'm trying to hide my body or it looks cool (like it's the "popular" thing to do).

 

[Miss 1940's]

I think tattoos are one of the only things I never did!

I just couldn't do it - I felt that if I could see it, I would get sick of it, and if I couldn't, what would be the point?

I did get to be Lydia the Tattooed Lady for a big corporate party once, It was a party for GM car salesman, with a Barbary Coast Sideshow theme. All I wore were tiny bloomers, a corset, a HUGE hat and high heels. I was "tattooed" all over everywhere by three women dressed as gypsies as I stood on a fancy chair in a room lined with mirrors - easily one of my more surreal experiences. And the guys at the party were awful, really pushy, until my friend the fire eater came to my rescue. What a night!
Bad part, I got home and there was no film in the camera (pre-digital dark ages).

Oh my stars Sara, No Film!!!!!!! I would have cried!

 

[Cherry_Bombb]

You are young and in 5 years you will be more evolved as a person than you are now. You may not want/like the same things in 5 years.

I couldn't agree more!!

 

[Miss 1929]

I did cry!

Oh my stars Sara, No Film!!!!!!! I would have cried!

And I wore them to bed, hoping to photo them in the morning, but they got all blurry, which looked really amusing!

 

[Drea]

I have many tattoos!! I started when I was 13 or 14 and I plan on getting a full body suit, everywhere but my face, all of them are strictly 20's to mid 40's styled. You know, its funny because what always inspired me to get tattooed was vintage photographs of some of the women back in those days who were fully tattooed- there's a fair amount of women who were tattooed back in those days but ofcourse it was something extremely underground, most especially if you were a woman. But I can think of quite a few ladies who were tattooed and wern't all in the circus and sideshows. I've met quite a few really old ladies with one or two tattoos. It was the people in the early 1900's who really brought tattooing to what we know it as today. So with that said- I think a traditonally done tattoo is a really good way to compliment those eras..plus I think tattoos done in those early traditional styles are so timeless and tasteful.

 

[MegamiOrchard]

I thought about my first tattoo for six years before getting it done. That was 10 years ago this year. I want another one, except this time it is large and prominent (across my shoulder blades) so still considering.

And every person who finds out I have a tattoo (below my natural waistline on my back) is VERY surprised. As in 'my goodness, you don't look like the type to have a tattoo'. Which is part of why I love having one.

 

[Miss Brill]

Didn't tattoos used to be green or black ink only? Limitations in artwork & available colors probably turned a lot of women off.

 

[Cherry_Bombb]

miss brill- I think that the black ink would fade to green and alot of the pigments would bleed. There were other colors though. It's very recent (within the last 30 or so years) that pigments have the staying power that they do now. IMO that's why alot of women were turned off...

Drea- the pictures are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!

 

[sophia la shok]

i'm finding at the moment that a lot of people seem to be getting tattooed on a whim. this really annoys me because they can be the same people who have to resort to lasering later on. which is kind of redundant. half of the point of tattoos is just that- they're permanent and really if you care what you put onto your body, you should take the time to decide on something that you want to keep with you for the rest of your life. i spent 5 years deciding what to get and where and i figure until you are 100 percent sure on it then it is likely you'll regret it.

there are girls that have gone into my tattoo studio asking for neck, face and hands to be done (as their first pieces) all of whom are very young and obviously haven't put much thought into it. of course they get turned away, but then if they are ditzy enough they'll go to any of the less reputable places and have a bad bit of work done there instead. not that i'm warning people off tattoos. i love them. i think if they're done properly then they can be beautiful and i have a good many myself. just the lack of thought behnd some if them annoys me, is all.

quite frankly, the semi permanent "fading" ink is ridiculous. i've seen it- it does not fade. and as for having it lasered- in many cases it looks worse than the bad tattoo in the first place.