If you're a regular here at Vita di Moda, then you'll be well aware that I have a very high appreciation for tattoo's and those heavily covered in them. I myself have a half sleeve at the moment (soon to be a full sleeve) and various others on my body, so to have people approach me and tell me that I'm crazy or worse, tell me that my existing and future tattoo's are going to "ruin my looks" just pisses me off to be frank.
I'm well aware of tattoos having an association with inmates, thugs, chavs and generally anything with a bad reputation, but are people forgetting that we're now in 2013 - a time where almost every second person you meet has at least one tattoo? Doctors, soldiers and even lawyers have full body suits under their uniforms, yet if you saw them during their personal time off, they would be getting looks thrown at them from all angles. It's ridiculous and I'm fed up with the stereotype that people attach to you as soon as they see that you have ink on your skin. I don't know how many times I've gotten on the train to go home to Glasgow, taken my jacket off and had people stare at my arm with a look of absolute disgust on their face. (I travel first class, so the people I'm talking about are men and women who travel with their LV handbags and wear sunglasses indoors. Whilst it's snowing outside.) Hello! Do you not realize that your staring is more offensive than whatever ink I have on my body? That reminds me actually. I had my blood pressure checked just last week at the doctors and the nurse physically turned her nose up when she saw my half sleeve. I nearly fell off the chair I was that taken aback. Having art on your body is not something to be ashamed of and it should definitely, 100,000,000% not be something that stops you from getting employment in the area of your choosing. I say this because whenever someone see's my tattoos, their first question is "how are you going to get your dream job now?". My answer to them? The same way everyone else does it - by working my ass off and proving that I can do it better than anyone else. I have ink on my skin, it does not make me a bad person and it certainly does not mean that I am incapable of getting the job done. If a company chooses someone else over me just because they have clear skin, then so be it. That's their loss.
My point is, tattoos - and those covered in them - should be accepted without having preconceived opinions present. This thought led me to start searching for heavily tattooed individuals in the fashion industry and what I found was that the rather wonderful Vivienne Westwood is already a fan of male models covered head to toe in ink. I knew there was a deeper reason for loving her.
The images above are from both her SS'11 & 12 menswear shows at London Fashion Week. When I look at these images, all I think is "well these lads know who they are and what they want from life" - and that they're insanely hot, but that's besides the point. To get tattoo's like these, you need confidence and bags of self assurance - these are qualities that, in my books, put you higher than those without. I think this looks good and that more models and people within the fashion industry should look like this. Women especially. Think of a full sleeve, neck or chest piece as an accessory if you want, that's what I do!
What do you think about tattoos in the workplace these days? Do you think they should be covered up, or that people should be allowed to express themselves without being judged and singled out?
