Back in the 90s, tramp stamps - those lower-back tattoos - were everywhere. And now it seems they’re making a comeback, and so are the low-rise jeans that so perfectly show those back tats off.
Tattoos have been around for thousands of years, but some styles were incredibly popular during that decade. Today, research shows that three out of every 10 Americans have at least one tattoo, and people are looking to the past for inspo. “Like with all trends, I think things become ‘retro’ after about 30 years and become cool again,” explains Australian tattoo artist Clare Clarity.
These are some 90-inspired tattoo trends that are cool once again, according to tattoo artists.
- Barbed wire tattoos - Pamela Anderson helped this trend take off in the 1990s after she got a barbed wire tattoo around her left bicep, which she had removed in 2014.. Now that she’s back with a new documentary and a new book, this style tattoo is “back in vogue,” according to Mikhail Anderson, owner of First Class Tattoos in New York City.
- Tribal tattoos - If 700-thousand Instagram posts with the hashtag #tribaltattoo are any indication, this trend is back in a big way. Anderson says this time, the younger generation is “using this style of tattoo to reclaim and highlight their own cultural identity, rather than appropriating others.”
- Chinese characters - They were popular in the 90s, but since we didn’t have Google until 1998, it wasn’t uncommon to regret one of these tattoos after finding out the image meant something totally different than what they thought. To avoid that, Jay Laviolette, owner of Pure Ink Fury, advises Googling the character you want and finding at least three images that say this means what it does.
- Sun tattoos - Another trendy 90s tattoo, people liked to get the suns around their belly button, which Laviolette advises against as that skin will stretch as you age and may not look right after you have kids.
- 90s cartoon tattoos - These experts say He-Man, The Tasmanian Devil and other 90s cartoon and pop-culture tattoos are coming back around as well.
- Tramp stamps - “If it never started being called a ‘tramp stamp,’ I believe it would still be one of the most popular spots for tattoos,” Laviolette says. Despite the nickname, lower back tattoos are popular once again, though people are now avoiding the designs associated with the 90s style, like tribal designs and symmetrical swirls coming off the sides of a butterfly or a heart.
Source: Hello Giggles