Tattoo Tuesday

Anjl Nath

Business Insider, How the tiny tattoo became a big status symbol

Indeed, over the last few years, tiny tattoos and fine-line tattoos have exploded in popularity. These designs are often black, minimal, delicate, and not as cost- or time-intensive as larger pieces. "The floodgates have opened in the world of smaller tattoos," said Sam Kelly, the cofounder of Tiny Zaps, a studio in New York City that offers a library of small designs by tattoo artists across the world. "For the consumer, it's no longer this big body modification."

A tiny tattoo has become a status symbol that can signal the epitome of small luxury: They're just pricey enough to show a person has enough disposable income to drop on a freckle-sized permanent alteration. (Despite the big New York City flash sale, most cost around at minimum around $50 to $70 and often tip into the three-figures.) And they telegraph — quietly — that you're young or in-the-know enough to exhibit a nihilism that says: Why not get a silly doodle permanently inked into my skin?

Anjl Nath, 26, a musician and actor in Los Angeles, went from having zero tattoos to two within a matter of months. "I never thought I'd actually get one until I learned about fine line tattoos and the daintier smaller ones," Nath said. The rise in popularity of small tattoos influenced her to finally bite the bullet. She loved her first one so much that she ended up getting in another in a matter of months.

"I kind of just went into it thinking life is short," she said, adding: "In this generation, people just have that mindset of going after what they want, which I think is really cool. Of course, tattoos are such a permanent thing, but I think this generation sees maybe small tattoos as more of just a whimsical, fun thing."

I say, go big or go home! 

The Wombat has posted Rule 5 Sunday: Karin Hart at the usual time and place.