To think she will regret her tatoo?

[MissMap]

My DN who has lived with us since she was a young teenager has announced that she is going to have a tatoo tomorrow. As she is an adult I cannot prevent her, but I am so concerned that she will regret it.

She has gone through lots of different phases eg Goth, a failed nose piercing etc.

Are most people that have tatoos happy with them?

"Remember folks - as soon as Robbie Williams does it, it's over."

Right, that's marriage out the window then.

With all of my tattoos I kept the designs somewhere I could see them daily for over a year before getting the tattoos.

You'd be amazed how many I got sick of seeing.

Does mean that the ones I have now are the ones I really loved/love, and can't see me ever regretting.

It's worth putting the time into. A well thought out tattoo is never regretted, a rushed one almost always is.

I spent a year hankering after a tattoo. I thought if I still wanted it after a year I would get it.
It's a fairly simple design that I could almost draw myself.
So one day I did. I drew it on my foot, exactly where I wanted it. It looked bloody awful. I instantly went off the idea. :o

Maybe ask her to draw the design on her leg to see how it looks?

"Maybe ask her to draw the design on her leg to see how it looks?"

Also a good idea. It's funny how different a flat design can look when applied to skin.

I'm seriously into tattoos, dp is a tattoo artist and I have one entire arm tattooed (3/4 sleeve) and even I would be loathe to recommend a tattoo going up the leg or foot as a first tattoo, for the reasons people have mentioned. I want to have my whole back and both arms tattooed and possibly thighs and chest and it might make you laugh but I'm not keen on vine tattoos on the ankle/leg or wrists either.

I guess it's because it's the latest fashion at the moment and there are a lot of women going for these tattoos at the moment who I always think will regret it later on because they are unlikely to really like tattoos their whole lives, as they are following fashion and not a lifelong passion/interest. And of course our tastes change.

The problem with vine tattoos imo is that they are decorative - ie rather than being about the tattoo itself they are more about decorating or accentuating the part of the body they are tattooed on. And we all like to change our decorations from time to time, don't we. Plus, if you don't think what you are decorating (your leg) is that attractive any more, say if you gain weight or are older, you won't appreciate your decoration any more either. I'm rambling, does that make sense? So if I have say a dragon on my back, for me it's about the dragon and the tattoo itself, not about decorating the back it's on, and even when I have an 80 year old back, my dragon will still be special to me as it's not there simply as a decoration...

I am happy to cover my body with tattoos but if I weren't such a tattoo fanatic I would definitely say that I wouldn't want to have a vine type tattoo on my ankle as it would always be there, and I think a normal non-tattooed woman's ankles look better without them. They ruin a nice pair of shoes and dress/skirt. There, I said it.

Ooooh, not the leg. Even the upper arms can be covered in summer. What will she do when her stinking rich boy/girlfriend wants to take her somewhere very smart when she's older? It won't look "edgy". It will look cheap.
Some places of work are very hot on this.

(I have a tattoo BTW)

I have a small tattoo on my shoulder which I had done over 10 yrs ago and still love as it means something to me
My other half has a tacky chinese symbol tattoo on his hip that he had done with his ex on hol, I keep trying to get him to get rid of it without much success, even made him an appt and took him to the laser clinic as a not so subtle nudge!!

Petisa - I agree with every word you said.
Dh's best mate is a tattoo artist, and having discussed such things with him many times, I think you're absolutely right.

That's how I know that the vine up the leg/foot tattoo is the latest fad - he's done loads of them.

Common.

Thank you all for your replies. She has read them all and tells me she will think very carefully before she goes ahead. The "next years tramp Stamp" comment certainly had an impact.

She is a gorgeous, talented girl who has worked really hard at Uni I would hate her to do anything which would upset her career plan, if nothing else. I am only her Aunty but I do want the best for her always. -Hobbles off to sob a bit more, whilst wringing hands in despair and abject misery- Emotional blackmail may work, where all else has failed.

And yes - how many people now wish they hadn't bothered with the standard issue Chinese symbol tattoo.
It's just makes people look like sheep without an original thought of their own. Nafftastic!

She sounds sensible MissMap, I wouldn't worry. :)

A wiggly line?

Up to her at the end of the day, at least you'll know you did all you could at the time to try and get her to really think about it.

It would be hers to regret at the end of the day.

Have you asked her what she might say to her children one day if they asked the same?

"at the end of the day"...it's night!

Up her leg like Peaches Geldof? I'm thinking are pretty nasty.
But I suppose she has the money to get them lasered.

Why don't you buy your DN an indelible marker and get her to wear her design for a week or two and see how she likes it and to notice peoples' comments and their faces when they see them. A tat's not just for Xmas.

I agree with most posts about not getting your first tattoo on your leg. Could she try and get it done with henna?
I got my first tattoo at uni( think tribal arm band) and a Celtic symbol on my shoulder- I didnt really think about what I wanted before hand and regretted them. You also like everyone has posted think about work later does always want to wear trousers?
For work I have to wear tops that come up to my collar and just past my elbow to look professional, but that is my personal choice as I now have a full back piece and a half-sleeve. They are personal to me and I'll have another half-sleeve on the other arm when I can afford it, at £110 ph and I'll prob need about 8-10 hours for my next one I know I wont regret it as I've carefully planned it.

I'm so glad you used the C word first pictish!

There's far too much scope for regretting a tattoo on an easily visible part of the body.

IMO tattoos look wonderful on Maori men , however, when I see other males remove their shirt but look as if they're still wearing a garment, I'm repulsed.

I have a friend of a certain age who recently had a small tattoo on an upper shoulder blade. When she wears strappy/strapless dresses she looks sad as if she's trying to be years younger.

It may be all very well for the likes Brangelina who have professional make-up artists on hand to cover their body art for filming, photo shoots etc, but covering a tattoo for work or special events using make-up is not an easy task for us mere mortals.

If your niece has a perfect pair of legs she'll be the envy of many, but many men will be turned off by the sight of such perfection defiled.