Going tribal

Tattoo history is always fascinating. One can keep researching and researching and still come across fascinating rabbit-hole like facts. For instance, yesterday I came across this website which homes some fantastic examples of Berber tattoos and the reasons why women have them (beautification, tribal reconnaissance, protection ect....).

Berbers are the original natives of northern Africa (Tamazgha). There are Berbers in Egypt, in Morocco, in Mali, in Niger, in Burkina Faso, in Libya in Tunisia, in Mauritania.

Before Berber women got ID cards they used to tattoo their forehead to mark their tribe, and to tattoo their chins to mark if they were married or divorced and how many children they had.

 “A scorpion may sting a woman as many times as she has tattoos, but God will be merciful if she donates an amount of money equal to the cost of covering her tattoos to the poor,” Old Berber saying.

Research by Susan Searight indicates that in certain North African regions, especially in the Rif and Atlas mountains, more than half the female tribe members are tattooed. Until recently, a Berber man would refuse to marry an untattooed woman.

My grandmother, a tribal woman herself, had a tattooed face and hands. When meeting with my dad yesterday, I asked him if he could remember what the specific design for the clan was and he drew this really bad star on a napkin in the pub. I think I will try and trace the original one and get it tattooed on my hand. I also want to add a vintage swallow tattoo, with a distinctive art deco outline, to my back.

In times of needs, there is nothing like a talisman tattoo to keep you going.

Michele Lamy Rick Owens

Rick Owen is my favourite designer . Wearing his clothes makes me happy, and I work hard so that I can afford more, like one of his Biker Jackets.  I love the earthy tones he uses, and the warrior undertone he gives to his garments.  Apparently his fashion shows are epic and also the hardest to get into. The Rick Owens show is not about who's famous derriere is on the front row or make-up and hair trends, its all about the fierce clothes.

Anyway, behind every great creative man, there is a muse feeding into his genius, and for Rick Owens, it comes courtesy of his fashion legend wife and collaborator, Michele Lamy.  This woman, who is known within certain circles for her "good taste",  has the kind of sense of style that  only an emissary from a futuristic parallel  landscape inhabited by holograms of SAPES (Society for the Advancement of People of Elegance) could possess. Lamy  has the look of an urban Inca Queen - but even that concept does not do her justice.   Her jewellery collection looks like its been handpicked from the British Museum secret archives.

EVIL GLAMOUR
Her hands are testimony to her pre and post apocalyptic vision. Tattooed fingers coupled with henna-blackened nails,  a heady mix of mountain-dwelling Berber queen, steam punk and prophetess from the Sacred Prostitutes of Babylon crew.  Not bad for someone who used to be a lawyer.

As is customory with legends, there are a number of  myths about her  floating around:  some people reckon she is 1600 years old,  and also a gypsy, arms dealer and a witch. She was a stripper at some point and a philosopher too. Those two last facts are actually true.

Michele is  French, although she used to live in LA for ages running a hot nightclub/restaurant called Les Deux. A friend of mine told me that whilst she was in Paris for the shows, sitting in a cafe, she saw Michele  walk into the cafe looking super stylish and cool. Turning heads and captivating the space with her incredible presence.

This is a picture of  her taking the Eurostar with her daughter, Scarlett Rouge.



 

I think that you will all join me in agreeing that she is fascinating and that someone should pen her biography.

Swallow Tattoo legs: The real thing on the streets of Buenos Aires

Yesterday I wrote all about vintage sailor tattoos and stuff.

Today, I wanted to share this picture of a pair of swallow tattoos located on the back of this ladies legs, which I found in a really cool Argentinian street style blog called: http://onthecornerstreetstyle.blogspot.com/

My Sailor Girl Tattoo Tights.

Me and my bebaroque tights and Christopher Kane for Topshop skirt

Dear Reader

Last week I finally bagged myself a pair of fancy hosiery. The hand-painted tights you can see in these pictures depict all kinds of sailor girl naughtiness: Mermaids with burlesque nipple tassles, oriental snake sweethearts, vintage swallows, tattoo stars..... It's all right up my street, like a charm bracelet for tights. A fashion talisman for the would-be land-locked sailor girl.

Sailors and fishermen have a long history of wearing tattoos, and the styles and motifs they popularised in the Western World are a rich source of inspiration for many a modern designer and artist. From La Moss'S Topshop range which carries a vintage swallow motif as part of the brand to parts of the ED Hardy's clothing range and lest we forget Amy Winehouse's entire body, sailor tattoo art is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

As Eleanor Barnes from the Seaman’s Institute has been quoted as saying, “Some people pour out their colorful stories to juries. Others relieve the tension by writing for the confession magazines. The sailor enlists the tattooers needle upon his own body in dull blues, vivid reds, greens, and yellows to record the story of his loves and hates, his triumphs, his religion, and his patriotism.”

VINTAGE SAILOR TATTOO BABY GROW
That's right - a babygrow adorned with sailor tattoo motifs such as I LOVE MUM & DAD in sacred hearts and anchors. I purchased this for a friend's newborn at a tattoo convention and she LOVED it. Once the child grew out of it, she passed it on to three other babies to wear. It is still doing the rounds of the Notting Hill-set babies.

Venus Tattoo: Appreciation Notes
Back to the tights - although the sailor tattoo tights look quite whitish, they are more transparent than they look in these pictures, with a slight silver sheen. They are 15 denier with a silk base, so one snag and I will become a very pissed off woman unless the cause for that snag is passion.

These particular tights are called Venus. A few months back I wrote up a small review on tattoo hosiery and it is incredible the sheer amount of traffic this blog receives based on those very key words (the other key word is wheelie wig by the way).

So here we go again: I bring you tattoo hosiery part 2: From Suzie to the Sphinx

BRAND PROFILE: BEBAROQUE
Crafted in Scotland by Chloe and Mhairi using hand embroidery and print, the bebaroque products have the power to instantly update your wardrobe and turn you into the edgiest girl around. If you have not come across any of their designs before, you must visit their website: www.bebaroque.co.uk

Expect to pay anything between £20 - £50 for the privilege of walking around with adorned legs and inviting comments from cute strangers – which is a lot of money for something so easily damaged. The flip side to this is that they are a very original item of clothing and there is nothing else like this out there.

The current collection is all about Russian fairy tales: "The collection draws upon Russian fairy tale imagery, exploring dark and Gothic themes with refreshing bright and colourful twists. This playful contribution for AW09 uses bold gem colours, opulent embroidery, crystals and bows to magically evoke the country's enchanted story telling," state bebaroque.

1950's Tattoo postcards

Tattooed Body Stockings: Suzie and the Sphinx

images:bebaroque

"The Tattooed Salomé" Moreau

Tattoo body stockings and hosiery are kicking off again, with bebaroque leading the pack yet again with their A/W collection, entitled 'Russian Dolls' which emulates ancient Russia.

"The collection draws upon Russian fairy tale imagery, exploring dark and gothic themes with refreshing bright and colourful twists. This playful contribution for AW09 uses bold gem colours, opulent embroidery, crystals and bows to magically evoke the country's enchanted story telling," state bebaroque.

Crafted in Scotland by Chloe and Mhairi using hand embroidery and print, the bebaroque products have the power to instantly update your wardrobe and turn you into the edgiest girl around. If you have not come across any of their designs, you must visit their website : www.bebaroque.co.uk

Galliano's "Suzie Sphinx" collection and the Body Stocking

Galliano was one of the first to put the idea back on the fashion lexicon when he incorporated tattoo body stockings into his “Suzie Sphinx” collection (A/W 1997-98).

Whilst sourcing more information about it, I came across a fantastic blog entitled Irenebrination: Notes on Art, Fashion and Style. The author of the blog, Anna Battista, stated the following in relation to that collection, which was very insightful:

"Some of my favourite paintings about Salomé are those by Gustave Moreau ("The Tattooed Salomé" and "Salomé Dancing Before Herod" for example), works that also inspired many years ago John Galliano’s "Suzie Sphinx" collection."

Follow-up versions
I have spent years on a quest looking for the right tattoo body stocking or top, with the main emphasis being to source a reasonably priced, delicately printed and applied on a sheer fabric tattoo top, bearing vintage designs.

At the London Tattoo Convention, I managed to purchase such a top with Japanese carp designs - but the colour was a bit too orange for my liking and the sleeves were too loose, ect I could go on and on.

And then bebaroque came along
So I was very happy to see that bebaroque are now providing their version of the tattoo body stocking.

"We loved designing the body wear. It was so interesting to add our textiles on to a different shape from hosiery, and to explore new and dynamic methods to expand our collections,” said Chloe and Mhairi.

They also have a great hosiery collection (just in case I did not repeat this enough times), which is by far the sexiest tight collection I have ever come across – as although I am not a tights girl (only stockings for me), these babies are fabulous.

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For the full article from Irenebrination: Notes on Art, Fashion and Style please visit: http://irenebrination.typepad.com/irenebrination_notes_on_a/2009/05/tsai-mingliangs-visage-and-fashion-.html