To think neck tattoos have gone out of control?

[Vagabond]

Why would you tattoo your neck?

It looks SOOOOO stupid!

I see them everywhere - even in 'posh places'. It's madness.

The groom on 'don't tell the bride' last night had one which had been partially removed- I thought he had dirt on his neck!

V. Bad move

They have gone a bit mainstream, which is surprising considering it's such a visible part of the body.

I once watched one of those tattoo shop reality shows (NY Ink, I think) where the tattoo artist refused to tattoo a woman's neck. He said he would never tattoo such a visible area unless the client was heavily into tattoos and already quite covered. I thought that was remarkably professional and responsible of him.

Dh's old friend is a tattoo artist, and he won't tattoo faces, hands, or partners names onto people.

Why? Because some people like it. The same way some people like tattoos and some don't. It's just personal preference.

Tattoos are very mainstream now. It's much less of a big deal than it ever was so people aren't so worried about getting them in more visible places.

""It looks SOOOOO stupid""

I find them sexy as hell.

I'm in my 40's, have no tattoos, like to look mainstream feminine etc.

Speak for yourself and leave me alone to drool.

I think that's fairly common for professional artists, diving. Certainly mine and the others in his studio will not do a visible tattoo as a first one because of the stigma that still exists about them. They explain why and the potential consequences of having ink that can't be easily covered - issues in the work place being the main one. If you haven't lived with ink for a while you don't necessarily realise what you're letting yourself in for with a visible, hard to conceal tattoo.

On one occasion, when he was working on my eighth, my artist asked my permission to bring through an 18 year old girl who not only wanted a visible tattoo it was an utterly ridiculous idea (moustache on her finger). She had just finished her A levels and had come in with a group of friends. He had already said he wouldn't do hers but thought it would help convince her not to try and get it done by a scratcher to hear from a heavily tattooed professional woman why it is I only have ink that can be covered up.