Laura Eastwood is one woman who most in her circle would consider to be the least likely to get a tattoo. However when she wanted an accessory to match her Gucci cocktail dress for an evening out, she thought maybe a tattoo of the not so permanent kind would make for an interesting conversation piece. So she stopped into Linda Mason’s boutique in SoHo to see what she could come up with, and the end result was a stamped on constellation of tattoo-press ons, only these were press-ons that were slightly less permanent even than hair extensions or press-on nails.
Laura’s big night out was to have dinner with a special ‘lady’ in her life, her daughter Graylen Eastwood who was turning 13. And she wanted to treat Graylen to the same body art that she was pursuing. And yes Graylen’s grandfather is none other than the renowned Mr. Clint Eastwood. Laura’s social circle generally involved a myriad of women who compared their Diors with their Louboutins, so to stamp one’s body with a collection of oddities was more than enough to raise some eyebrows.
Laura entered the commonly known ground of ‘tattoo regret’ as she watched Graylen’s arms and legs become a framework for Celtic knots and thorns, while her own temporary tattoo was an exotic star and script combination. She was fairly certain that she’d be hearing from the school sooner than later, regardless of the artwork’s temporary nature.
However, even though Laura was stepping outside of her circle’s comfort zone, she need not have worried as temporary tattoos are on the upswing in terms of making a fashion statement. The look of tattoos is actually quite trendy, and in some cases, even trendier than their truly etched counterparts. It seems after all that fake really is in fashion, so long as you aren’t trying to pass off a phony Gucci bag.
Companies like Tattoo Shock, Body Graphics, and Funtoos are all jumping on the fake bandwagon. Another allure to the fake look is the affordability. For $10 bucks you can pick yourself up a packet of do it yourself transfers, which is pretty sweet when you compare it to a potential 3 or 4 figure budget for a custom design with professional application. Mock tattoos are cropping up in the movies, in sports, advertising campaigns, and all over the pages of high-end fashion magazines.
Fakes have been touted by companies such as Juicy Couture, where models wore press on snakes along their torso. And in December’s Italian Vogue, ink-transfer flowers were emblazoned all over models faces, necks, arms, and legs. Marc Jacobs has been known to use them for his Arabian Nights theme Christmas party at the Rainbow Room, where his makeup artist referred to them as a means of branding for people to define themselves. Much the same way one would by wearing a Marc Jacobs piece no less.
So if you are considering the fake tattoo, and worried that you may appear like a wimp or a wuss for not digging into the real deal, consider these factors. That if high-end fashion can make something out of fake tattoos, then perhaps, you are more fashionable than your ‘untattooed’ counterparts after all.