Her first tattoo is a small lavender sprig on her forearm. Green and purple. It looks nice.
She is planning to get another one on her upper arm/shoulder or her side that are a few different kinds of flowers. Kind of like a bouquet. These will all be colored and much larger than the first one. My personal opinion is I don’t think colored tattoos age well.
Is there a way to share my opinion or do I stay out of this because it’s not my body?
Things are a little delicate between us right now, she is struggling with mild to moderate depression recently and I think that makes me lean towards being supportive and “I LOVE IT!!!” to whatever she decides.
Backstory, my first “real” girlfriend got a colored tramp stamp tattoo when we were 18 that didn’t come out very well and I’m sure it’s a train wreck now 25 years later.
Has she been thinking about this for a while, or is it a spur of the moment thing? If she’s been planning it for a while, I think you have to shut up. If it’s more impulse, I think you can gently question the size/location/color.
If it isn’t something you’d leave her for, or change the way you feel about her (as opposed to you just have concerns that it will fade over time), just go with the flow and let her enjoy it. Separate and apart even from the depression stuff
Since she is struggling with depression, is this tattoo a cry for attention? Or, as said before, something she thought about for a while? But yeah, “I LOVE IT” is certainly the answer she needs and/or wants.
If it’s larger maybe express your concern but say you support her and think that you would go with the side. For public visibility sake and the future. (The higher the better.) Once you get off the waist up to the rib area it’s going to hurt like a son of a bitch. It may stop her from tattoos as way to deal with depression.
the depression makes me tend toward “stay out of it”. In terms of it being her body that is true but I also think if you’re in a marriage you do get to weigh in a little on the other person’s body. I wouldn’t want to marry someone I was attracted to and have them become unattractive to me because they got super out of shape, for instance.
I’m not married and never have been, so take all that with a grain of salt.
It’s also possible she’ll change her mind in a month.
Ok, we talked. She had her consultation with the artist today. It’s scheduled for late July. The artist did mention the ribs hurt like a biatch so it will be an upper arm. It will look really nice, the artist does amazing work and she did the first one. It’s just not my style.
Wife asked me for my opinion. I said color tattoos are not my style but if you like it go for it.
She has been planning it a while, it’s not a depression impulse thing, it just plays into my response a bit.
i think this is one of those things where stick to the “I love it” plan. You’ll grow to like it, even of you don’t like the idea of it now.
My ex started with a small badly done dolphin on one hip 27 years ago, and ended up with complex brilliantly drawn designs covering a lot of her body. I got used to it, and was never critical even though it wouldn’t have been my preference. Not my body. Wasn’t the reason she is now my ex.
I have no tattoos myself, but I am quite a fan of the artform
My daughter has a clover on her wrist and plans to get two bouquets flowers done as well (to celebrate her grandmoms who are both struggling with dementia & Alzheimer’s)
My take is - What’s the harm? If you make a fuss about getting them done, and how well they age (um, who gives a shit?) you might not be around to find out
Ok, we talked. She had her consultation with the artist today. It’s scheduled for late July. The artist did mention the ribs hurt like a biatch so it will be an upper arm. It will look really nice, the artist does amazing work and she did the first one. It’s just not my style.
Wife asked me for my opinion. I said color tattoos are not my style but if you like it go for it.
She has been planning it a while, it’s not a depression impulse thing, it just plays into my response a bit.
And for God’s sake, don’t mention the ex’s tramp stamp.
I wish you told me that five minutes earlier…
They did, they told you 52 minutes earlier to be precise. What you meant to say was that you wished you’d read it 5 minutes earlier
Though I can appreciate people getting them to remember a loved on, I’ve never really understood why people pay to be a walking advertisement for someone else’s artwork. But each to their own.
Ok, we talked. She had her consultation with the artist today. It’s scheduled for late July. The artist did mention the ribs hurt like a biatch so it will be an upper arm. It will look really nice, the artist does amazing work and she did the first one. It’s just not my style.
Wife asked me for my opinion. I said color tattoos are not my style but if you like it go for it.
She has been planning it a while, it’s not a depression impulse thing, it just plays into my response a bit.
Sounds like you handled it correctly. My wife has wanted a manatee tattoo for years and I don’t think it will be attractive, because as much as I love manatees (and my wife REALLY love manatees) they are not attractive animals and I’ve never seen a manatee tattoo I like. She may or may not get one and I support her if she chooses to get one, but I probably won’t like it.
And yes, confirm. Rib tattoos hurt bigly. I’ve got over 12 hours of tattooing on my ribs and every second hurt dreadfully.
Depression is obviously tough. People do things they think will make them happier, but it’s usually a bandaid for something else. It’s not likely to make her feel better. It is possible she’ll look back on this is 5 years when she’s out of the fog and not remember exactly why she wanted to do this or that she wishes she would have waited until she was thinking more clearly.
I like colored tattoos. They don’t age well for a variety of reasons, but one of the biggest ones we can control is keeping them out of the sun. That’s tougher to do on the forearm. That said, I personally don’t think random upper arms look good, especially on women. Part of a full arm? Sure. Just upper arm? Not for me.
Her first tattoo is a small lavender sprig on her forearm. Green and purple. It looks nice.
She is planning to get another one on her upper arm/shoulder or her side that are a few different kinds of flowers. Kind of like a bouquet. These will all be colored and much larger than the first one. My personal opinion is I don’t think colored tattoos age well.
Is there a way to share my opinion or do I stay out of this because it’s not my body?
Things are a little delicate between us right now, she is struggling with mild to moderate depression recently and I think that makes me lean towards being supportive and “I LOVE IT!!!” to whatever she decides.
Backstory, my first “real” girlfriend got a colored tramp stamp tattoo when we were 18 that didn’t come out very well and I’m sure it’s a train wreck now 25 years later.
Not a tattoo guy at all, but my wife has a ton. Including a few I really can’t say I care for. I’d never consider saying a word and eventually you don’t even notice them. She’s asked for my input but I’ve always just said it’s your body, do what you want to it… as long as it’s not a face tattoo. I’d probably speak up on that lol but she’d never get one anyway.
