Lifestyle
Posted on by Erica Stolman

The Stories Behind my Tattoos (including the one I got removed)

fashionlush, dainty tattoos, stories behind my tattoos

LET’S TALK TATTOOS.

I love them. I love hearing about other peoples tattoos, I love looking at tattoos on Pinterest, & I actually oddly enjoy getting a tattoo. I have a pretty high pain threshold & a tattoo is the ultimate adrenaline rush (same goes for piercings- I will do a piercings post soon!). I’ve gotten 8 tattoos so far, but only have 7 on my body.

My first tattoo I ever got has since been removed & the story of how I got it is a good one…. rewind to me at 16 years old.

Me & my three best friends at the time (including my current bff Lauryn Evarts of The Skinny Confidential) ditched school at lunch & decided to get BFF tattoos. I can clearly recall us thinking we were soooo badass while driving to the tattoo parlor in my 1986 Volvo, sunroof open, & blasting Avril Lavigne.

THIS IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD…  there were four of us & we only had two fake ID’s. One of the ID’s was a brunette & the other a blonde. I was the only brunette!! SO- Lauryn & I walked in first, showed our ID’s to the guy without a worry in the world & got our first tattoo. It was a tiny red heart outlined in black & of course we both wanted them super low on the hip so they’d slightly peek out of Frankie B jeans. CLASSY AF!!!

Once we were done we had to go to TWO other tattoo parlors for the two other girls to share the one blond fake ID & get there hearts on other really classy places (?).

Two years later, shit hit the fan. One of the girls in the group wronged me & hell hath no fury on a Fashionlush scorn. She was gone & the tattoo had to go to. The rumors are true, it hurts worse than the tattoo itself… but for me, it was worth it (just make sure they numb the shit out of you).

THAT BEING SAID, I don’t regret getting that tattoo nor do I regret getting it removed. It makes for a great story (also, lauryn got hers removed as well LOL). Anyways, now for the tattoos I still DO have. Let’s break ’em down…fashionlush, dainty tattoos, stories behind my tattoos

THE STORIES BEHIND MY TATTOOS

1. C’est La Vie

this was the first tattoo… on my body CURRENTLY (cause we’re not counting the one I got removed). I was on a first date, got a little tipsy, saw a tattoo parlor across the street, got a 24 oz of PBR & got this tattoo. GOOD THING WAS- I had what I wanted planned for a while. I was 22, fresh out of college, & just was a little confused on what I wanted to do/what my path was. C’est La Vie means “such is life” in French & I was living very in the moment with a total such is life attitude (it was NOT after the B*WITCHED song). I got it on my right side on my ribs & TG I had a couple beers/sake shots in me cause it hurt like a BITCH.

2. Transcend | Protect | Explore

On the outside of my left wrist I have three glyph symbols that stand for “transcend, protect, explore”. I got this tattoo on Zack & I’s first ever trip to Copenhagen. I have a ton of travel anxiety & it had been a while since I had been abroad before this trip, & I was going on a trip with a new(ish) boyfriend. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I was in therapy for this trip & I honestly didn’t think I’d make it… but I did & this tattoo will forever remind me that I can transcend, I will be protected, & I have to explore.

3. Bitzy

MY BITZY TAT (1 of 2). This one is on the outside of my left hip/thigh area. If you’re new here, Bitzy was my beloved yorkie who we lost in August 2018. I got this tattoo far before she passed away just because I am obsessed with her & always will be. This area- also pretty painful, but again, I am weird & kind of like the pain of a tattoo.

4. Evil Eye

I got this tattoo on our trip to Copenhagen in 2016. It’s kind of a tradition of ours to get a tattoo in Copenhagen… we don’t do it every time but we Zac & I have been four times & I’ve gotten a tattoo on 3 out of the 4 trips (& because we missed a year, this trip I got two tattoos!). The first one I got was this evil eye tattoo on the inside of my right arm. I had a vision in my head & then the tattoo artist worked it up for me. The evil eye is inside of a n “A OK” hand ? & I just liked how it looked. It doesn’t have some deep meaning to me other than it wards of evil & everything is gonna be fine.

5. Hygge

This is the second tattoo I got on our 2016 trip to Copenhagen & I think it’s my favorite. We are OBSESSED with Copenhagen & HYGGE is a Danish word that basically describes the feeling of being cozy. I did a post all about HYGGE here if you wanna learn more, but I just love this tattoo & it’s funny cause now HYGGE is becoming super trendy in the states. I have this one on the back of my arm right below my left elbow.

6. Prêt-à-Porter

I got this tattoo the same time I got the Bitzy tattoo on my outer thigh (I thought this was in order, but guess not!). Prêt-à-Porter means “ready to wear” in French, which works well cause I obviously love fashion, BUT that is not why I got this tattoo. This is probably my “deepest” tattoo.

I worked at a store called Prêt-à-Porter for about 3 years out of college & I was quickly becameBEST friends with the store owner. When I left the store we had a falling out, we both loved each other very much, but it was one of those situations where it wasn’t healthy for her or I if I stuck around. She had taught me SO much about fashion & I honestly don’t think I’d be doing what I am doing if it wasn’t for this woman. I considered a sister & was really looking forward to the day where I would get a phone call that things were better & we could get lunch.

Unfortunately, I got a very different phone call. It was a mutual friend letting me know she had passed away. I was very crushed. There was so much more I had to say & I was now feeling a lot of guilt. I got this tattoo to remember her always & if she’s looking down on me, I know she is proud I have branded her firecracker self on my body. This one is on the outside of my right arm about 2 inches up from my wrist.

7. my little B

my most recent tattoo is a little B. Right before our latest trip to Copenhagen my sweet Bitzy passed away… like three days before. I was ready to cancel the trip but I knew we had to go to heal from this great great loss. Zack & I both got little tiny B’s while in Copenhagen so we can bring our baby B with us everywhere. His is on the inside of his right wrist & mine is on the inside of my left wrist so when we hold hands we can look down & see our B’s. This tattoo is also up there as one of my faves.

OKAY- SO WHAT IS YOUR FAVE TATTOO YOU HAVE (IF YOU HAVE ANY)?! Comment below, let’s talk tats!!