soraya

Hello!
Finally decided to register and make a first post after lurking here for at least a couple years now. :)
I'm a lawyer by day and tattoo lover by night. Also, cats. :D
I got my first tattoo on my 18th birthday, and never looked back.
Here are my two most recent tattoos:
The cat matryoshka was done at last year's Minneapolis Tattoo Expo by Shawn Patton. The photo was taken immediately after completion.
The next two are of my space cats. These are cartoons of my four fur-children. Of course, prior to finishing the piece, our family expanded to add another cat and a dog. Good thing there's space on my forearm. That was done by Dan Dittmer. One photo is after my second to last sitting, and the other is after the last sitting. Finished this about 6 months ago. No formal healed pics yet.
I have some other random stuff, but probably nothing else worth posting pictures of.
I'll be at the Minneapolis Tattoo Expo this coming weekend possibly looking for something to fill some blank space on my upper outer arm. :D
Given my occupation in particular, getting any potentially visible tattoo is a fairly large commitment. I'm more or less restricted to always wearing long sleeves at the office, although on quiet days, I can get away with partially-sheer sleeves, or 3/4 length sleeves. I know for me, deciding to get a half-sleeve marked the point in time where I decided I was going to be a tattooed person rather than a person with tattoos. I'm curious if others - particularly other tattooed women - had this experience - that of knowing that they were committing to being a "tattooed person."
Thanks all!

Couldn't we argue that in a way tattoos are a commitment to not changing our appearance? I can cut my hair or shave my beard without giving it two thoughts. I can but different clothing and decorative glasses on my lunch break today- no big deal, right? But these tattoos, these damn tattoo, those are staring to seem kind of permanent.

I agree! Although I respect the view of some who say, "I'd never work at a place where they wouldn't accept tattoos," and admire their willingness to take a stand, I think the reality is something closer to the quote above. During the recession my husband was out of a job for about 2 years. We went into "survival mode" and really cut back, and just scraped by, and he did free-lance work here and there, until he found permanent work when the economy recovered. It was a very difficult time. My husband only has a couple of tattoos that would never be seen in the workplace, but if he did, and turned down a job on principle because they wouldn't allow them to show his tattoos, there would have been trouble in paradise. When you have a family, mortgage, bills to pay, you you have to think very carefully before you jeopardize all of that on principle.

I agree! Although I respect the view of some who say, "I'd never work at a place where they wouldn't accept tattoos," and admire their willingness to take a stand, I think the reality is something closer to the quote above. During the recession my husband was out of a job for about 2 years. We went into "survival mode" and really cut back, and just scraped by, and he did free-lance work here and there, until he found permanent work when the economy recovered. It was a very difficult time. My husband only has a couple of tattoos that would never be seen in the workplace, but if he did, and turned down a job on principle because they wouldn't allow them to show his tattoos, there would have been trouble in paradise. When you have a family, mortgage, bills to pay, you you have to think very carefully before you jeopardize all of that on principle.

I agree! Although I respect the view of some who say, "I'd never work at a place where they wouldn't accept tattoos," and admire their willingness to take a stand, I think the reality is something closer to the quote above. During the recession my husband was out of a job for about 2 years. We went into "survival mode" and really cut back, and just scraped by, and he did free-lance work here and there, until he found permanent work when the economy recovered. It was a very difficult time. My husband only has a couple of tattoos that would never be seen in the workplace, but if he did, and turned down a job on principle because they wouldn't allow them to show his tattoos, there would have been trouble in paradise. When you have a family, mortgage, bills to pay, you you have to think very carefully before you jeopardize all of that on principle.

I agree! Although I respect the view of some who say, "I'd never work at a place where they wouldn't accept tattoos," and admire their willingness to take a stand, I think the reality is something closer to the quote above. During the recession my husband was out of a job for about 2 years. We went into "survival mode" and really cut back, and just scraped by, and he did free-lance work here and there, until he found permanent work when the economy recovered. It was a very difficult time. My husband only has a couple of tattoos that would never be seen in the workplace, but if he did, and turned down a job on principle because they wouldn't allow them to show his tattoos, there would have been trouble in paradise. When you have a family, mortgage, bills to pay, you you have to think very carefully before you jeopardize all of that on principle.

I agree! Although I respect the view of some who say, "I'd never work at a place where they wouldn't accept tattoos," and admire their willingness to take a stand, I think the reality is something closer to the quote above. During the recession my husband was out of a job for about 2 years. We went into "survival mode" and really cut back, and just scraped by, and he did free-lance work here and there, until he found permanent work when the economy recovered. It was a very difficult time. My husband only has a couple of tattoos that would never be seen in the workplace, but if he did, and turned down a job on principle because they wouldn't allow them to show his tattoos, there would have been trouble in paradise. When you have a family, mortgage, bills to pay, you you have to think very carefully before you jeopardize all of that on principle.

I agree! Although I respect the view of some who say, "I'd never work at a place where they wouldn't accept tattoos," and admire their willingness to take a stand, I think the reality is something closer to the quote above. During the recession my husband was out of a job for about 2 years. We went into "survival mode" and really cut back, and just scraped by, and he did free-lance work here and there, until he found permanent work when the economy recovered. It was a very difficult time. My husband only has a couple of tattoos that would never be seen in the workplace, but if he did, and turned down a job on principle because they wouldn't allow them to show his tattoos, there would have been trouble in paradise. When you have a family, mortgage, bills to pay, you you have to think very carefully before you jeopardize all of that on principle.

@Guerillaneedles -I react the same way when I see people without tattoos. As a tattooed woman, I really pay attention to other tattooed ladies. Sometimes when I see a woman in a tank top or something that shows the back, my first reaction is that, "Oh, she would look great with a back piece." More and more I think that people look incomplete without tattoos.

Such an interesting thread. Doesn't seem like generalizations can be made about type of employment, size of employer, or anything else, with regards to how an individual's tattoos are treated in the workplace.
I'm a lawyer at a small plaintiff's law firm. For the first several years I practiced, I made certain my tattoos were covered. Over time, as I've "earned" my reputation for being damn good at what I do, I've loosened up about my tattoos showing. I also have more visible or potentially visible tattoos than when I started.
My boss, who is male, and who leans to the extreme conservative, is not a fan of tattoos at all. If asked, he will generally comment that he has no idea why an otherwise attractive woman would tattoo her arms all up, but concedes a small rose on the ankle is sexy. :rolleyes:
To his credit, though, after I got my half sleeve done, he did acknowledge that it was pretty "neat." For female professionals especially, I think it largely comes down to having "earned it."
I'm fortunate in that I work in a practice area and with a client base, where my tattoos can, in some instances, be an asset. In fact, my boss has had me join him in a meeting or two with a new potential client specifically to point out that I'm tattooed. A bit annoying and offensive, of course, but if it helps establish a rapport with a potential client - sure.
That said, my tattoos, other than my small one on my wrist, are never visible in court. Usually they're not visible when meeting with a client or with opposing counsel. The reality is that female lawyers are absolutely judged on their appearance, and looking polished helps my clients in court, and it helps me in securing new clients.
Other than a couple small ankle tattoos, and a boob tattoo, I'm the only one in the office with any large amount of tattoo work. I don't care if my colleagues' tattoos are visible when it's quiet in the office, but I don't want to see that boob tattoo when there's a client in the office. Same thing goes for hiring. We hired two new young female attorneys in the last two years, and during the interview process, a young woman, who was otherwise very qualified came in for a second interview. Her dress was far too low cut and showed too much cleavage, and I could see her large tattoo on her boob - and it annoyed me. I thought it actually showed somewhat poor judgment. Why would you show your cleavage and a boob tattoo during a second interview at a law firm??

It's possible, I suppose! We made it clear to our interviewees that we wanted them to make sure our practice area and firm culture would be a good fit for them. However, she did share that she had had 20 interviews, and ours was only the second call-back interview she had had. At the time we were interviewing, the job market for brand-new baby lawyers was dismal. We had over 100 applicants, and interviewed 20 people. The field of candidates was outstanding, so she was up against tough competition. I suppose there are some brand-new baby lawyers with zero experience out there that don't have in excess of $100K in student loans to pay off and that are independently wealthy, and that can afford to test the waters during an interview, but I would assume those people are very few and far between.
While I know there are lawyers with tattoos, and even some that might be considered "heavily" tattooed, in my practice field, I've never seen another lawyer's visible tattoos, and am only aware of one other lawyer that does defense, that has two full sleeves. Us lawyers are a judgmental, uptight bunch when it comes to our own kind. ;)

Haha kind of hijacking this thread but wanted to say I know someone who tattoos a lawyer who has a full Japanese bodysuit. You'd never guess under the suit. But he's a bit of a 'character' shall we say, and has admitted he just happened to end up on the right side of the law Haha!.
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This is a beautiful quote! And makes me think, when I see people without any visible tattoos I just feel like they'd they'd look better with nice tattoos, so I guess I do find tattoos very attractive indeed (though they do need to be tattooed art). I'm not too into tribal dragons and script, not my style. I think if someone has a nice collection that's hot! I know they've got good taste and a passion (there's nothing sexier than a passion for something!)

I have read of women who say they want to get completely covered with tattoos, but say that they will never cover their breasts. That’s fine and I understand it. They may feel like that area is too precious to cover, or fear gravity issues. To my eyes, at some point when you get a lot of coverage on the front, leaving the breasts bare looks odd, incomplete. In some ways it perhaps features the breasts too much, leaving glaring white boobs popping out of a dark field of ink. Perhaps this is less of an issue for dark skinned people, but f you are light skinned, it is a consideration.
But I have always admired women who get body suits that include the breasts. I feel like it is a powerful commitment to go all the way there, and I feel in a way that it embraces our feminine assets as part of us, rather than setting them apart.
I am drawn to Japanese style tattooing, and would love to be covered in that way. I love the look of the total frontal coverage with the munwari (open stripe of clear skin down the middle), and I think covering the breasts also offers some interesting design opportunities that take advantage of the shape of the breast and nipples, which is also seen in female Japanese body suits. There are some interesting photos out there that I will post if I can find them.
On the other hand, the picture posted above (which is absolutely stunning!) shows another approach that is equally attractive: simply using the skin on the chest as a canvas for a huge cohesive idea and incorporating, but not necessarily featuring the breasts.
In any case, if I ever do my front, I would go all the way and include the girls.

I forget what happened to inspire the remark, but at some point I cracked a joke about my arms being ripped off, and my friend said 'hopefully not the expensive one.' It was the first time I realized that one of my arms is actually worth more than the other one. What a strange thought.

Selfishly, I wish tattoos didn't hurt because I am not into the pain aspect of it all. :D But if I really think about it, I agree that I'm glad they do hurt. It helps weed out "undesirables." If you're not willing to handle even a few minutes of pain to get your upside down wrist script, then you clearly aren't invested in it. Tattoos should be seen as a commitment...that's the part of it I'm addicted to. You do your research on artists, styles, subject matter...you sit through the pain and pay hard earned money for it...and you live with the consequences of your action as you're now "a tattooed person" or a more "heavily tattooed person." If you're not really committed to every aspect of that process, you're not ready to be tattooed. It's just another test to prove how much you want it. And honestly, you feel so much more accomplished and proud of yourself when you make it through a tough session, it makes the experience more fond and meaningful.

I'm happy there's pain as well. It's actually taught me a few things about myself and has given me the courage to try new things and say yes to new experiences. As I've gotten older with some health issues, I began shying away from new and uncomfortable situations (physically speaking) But now 13+ ish hours in, I've been embracing physically new and possible and probable pain inducing activities. I'm not afraid of getting hurt anymore. I began 4 wheeling and I'm loving it, joined two softball leagues and have begun hiking, with plans to go sky diving this summer too. Have I gotten hurt? Yes, but I'm able to shake it off now and move on. Completely unexpected.

Love the turtleneck idea!
At work I cover them, so I don't really think about it then, but out in the world I do the same thing, solid colors and things that don't clash too much. White and black are great for contrast. I have noticed that my clothing preferences have actually changed a lot! I have ditched crazy prints for simpler things since my arms are so colorful now :D I also wear a lot of either short sleeves, half sleeves, or sleeveless...3/4 sleeves interrupt the flow of the tattoos so I tend to avoid those.
I think a fair amount about placement but I also want to resist planning out every last detail of where every tattoo will go because then it takes a bit of the fun and spontaneity out of it for me. So far I have been building as I go and I like how it looks. I have set aside different themes for different body parts (right arm is smaller traditional pieces, left arm will be a neotraditional "sleeve" of sorts, legs have some Japanese work and little bits and pieces, thighs are larger panels, etc.) so there is a bit of planning ahead. I suppose if I happened to be in the same place as an artist I like my previous plans could all go out the window, but that's what makes it fun.

Great thread! This is why I love LST!
I live in an environment where none of my friends have any interest whatsoever in tattoos. It is hard enough for them to get past the notion that I am tattooed. So asking them for their thoughts on coordinating clothing with tattoos would be a hilarious non-starter.
But here, you get dozens of people who think about the same thing, and have ideas to share, and its no big deal.
Thanks you guys!
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I don't show my tattoos very much in my normal environment. But when we are on vacation away from home I do. In that case, if I am just out and about, I don't think much about coordinating my clothes. But if we are going out to dinner at a nice restaurant or something like that, and if am going to let my sleeves show, I generally tend toward solid colors, and black or charcoal, because it doesn't clash with the patterns of my tattoos.
I like white too, because it really lets the tattoos take the lead because of the contrast. One of my favorite looks if I really want to rock my tattoos is a sleeveless white turtleneck. You have all of that pure white, and then "Pow!" – these colorful arms pop out of the sleeve openings. Love it.

I have wondered about this too. Some people say that tattoos without outlines, that are based on subtle shading without skin showing through will be indiscernible smears of color in 30 years. I know that tattoos fade, and I understand the point of view that says "Don't worry about the future. Enjoy it now." But I do want my tattoos to look as good as possible 30 years from now, even if I am old an wrinkled. If I can make choices now that will maximize the chances of looking good in the future, it is a win-win.

You mean people with tattoos can be intelligent?! :eek:
Good on them though. I imagine Jeopardy needs to get with the times to stay even remotely relevant, and nowadays most people are tattooed...no use fighting it or trying to maintain their stuffy atmosphere.

Just want to throw in here that I absolutely love the "Ladies Thread!" I'm going to try to wade through the whole thing at some point. But I just love having a place were we girls can share information about tattoo topics specific to us! :-)

I look toward retirement to open a lot of tattoo doors for me. I'd love 3/4 or full sleeves. Heck, I'd love to be totally covered, but just not realistic. Sigh...Someday?

@soraya
Yeah, I know what you mean. I was confused at the previous comment about skin breaks versus wall-to-wall color. Mine is wall-to-wall with no skin breaks and it makes no sense to me why a skin break would make things "hold up" better.
I think the example you showed is beautiful, but I haven't seen examples like that that have aged. I'd be curious to see that.

I hope you guys can help me. I hope this is an appropriate place to ask this. If not, please let me know if there is a better place…
I’m in the early planning (and money saving) stages of a back piece. I was really thinking traditional Japanese style, but in searching for artists, came across some other styles that are now attracting me.
Here is an image of a tattoo in a style that I am now becoming attracted to. I think it is stunningly beautiful, and I like the idea that every square millimeter of skin is colored. But my question is this: Id like to get feedback from some of you who are artists, or long-time tattooed folks, or anybody who knows, on how you think this tattoo will hold up over time?
The elements of my current tattoos so far all are outlined in black. But I see that this one depends of shading of colors and contrasts between colors for the beautiful color effects, but has very little black line work in most areas. I have heard some say that this sort of treatment will not hold up well over time.
I know tattoos fade, and I need to keep out of the sun, etc., etc. I’m in my 50s, so I’m thinking a 20-25 year time frame.
Please don’t say that if I’m worried about how tattoos will look when I get old, that I shouldn’t get them. I want my tattoos to look good for as long as possible, even if I get old and wrinkly.

Not sure about anyone else here, but I've had to tattoo over too many long-healed upper thigh scars on girls in my generation to gloss over body image issues so easily. Or heard girls that can't weigh more than 125 pounds talk about how they want to lose weight before they tattoo their ribs or belly. Or been asked about covering stretch marks from when they had kids, despite that being a completely normal and natural thing. Etc., etc., etc.
So, rather than think you're entirely the victim and getting attacked here (which I would say has gone a bit overboard, based on misunderstanding of some of your original points due to poor phrasing and explanation), realize that you do have a warped understanding of how deeply body image can affect women who have been conditioned by society to hate their bodies.
Also, you should worry far more about poorly done tattoos than tattoos that don't fit the body.