Tattoo & Piercing

The Bird is the Word: Flights of Fashion Fancy for Summer Have you heard about the bird? Chanel designers know that the bird is the word. Chanel Les Trompe L’Oeil, a signature line of temporary body art released in 2010, features 55 ingenious elements, including a romantic and delightful set of gem-laden swallows in flight Today’s avian attraction in the realm of fashion, however, is actually nothing new. In fact, bird motifs, prints, and graphics can be seen in traditional Japanese kimono fabrics, vintage western wear, and are even a popular element in Indian and Arabic mehndi. These feathered friends […]

The Body Jewelry Survival Guide: School Daze Braving the pitfalls of high school can be even harder than usual if you’re a member of the modified community, but it doesn’t have to be an unpleasant experience. Just check out these solutions for everyday piercing problems: Retainers If you attend private school or a religious learning institution, chances are your piercings are bit of a dress code no-no. Rather than letting your favorite piercings close up though, you might be able to get away with a retainer. Every school is different, but most of the time clear retainers are a low […]

The Comprehensive Users Guide to Belly Piercing: Part 1 As some of you may have heard through the grapevine, I recently embarked on the journey of a lifetime: I got my first ever piercing. Being a fairly down to earth individual and having a simple, almost accessory devoid wardrobe, it was a difficult decision to finally go under the needle. And after mulling it over again and again (I don’t even have my earlobes pierced by the way), I decided that the piercing most fitting for me would be the belly. So, as a conscientious piercee, I began to prepare […]

The Cat’s Meow: Pretty Kitty Piercing Fashion People are very serious about loving their cats. Photos, funny memes, and videos of cats are viral on Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, YouTube, and just in general. It is mainly because of their cute, cuddly, sweet, adorable little feline faces and quirky personalities. Modern cat lovers live in style with their fuzzy friends. The “crazy cat lady chic” style is more than just a trend; it is an expression of true love. Or maybe it’s just a desire to be cute, either way I am convinced that this fun style statement is here to […]

The Comprehensive Users Guide to Belly Piercing: Part 2 Well, it’s been about a week now and the healing process has commenced. Since I’m a pretty paranoid person and extremely susceptible to infection, I made sure to ask as many questions as possible about the after care process and what to expect. As with the initial piercing and how it would feel, I posed the aftercare question to any number of already healed persons with their bellies done, as well as all manner of piercing professionals. And well, the rules seem a little stiff, but I think they’re fairly reasonable. […]

The Comprehensive Users Guide to Belly Piercing: Part 4 Even once it’s healed, a piercing that’s only a couple months old can be prone to irritation, especially in the sweltering heat of Summer. Belly rings with fancy large designs or long decorative dangles are easily caught on clothes, towels, and god only knows what else, so sticking with simplicity seems like the way to go. In that spirit (because I know how hard choosing a simple banana bell can be and how bland regular belly rings seem), I’ve decided to share some style hints for keeping it simple this season […]

The Comprehensive Users Guide to Belly Piercing: Part Three Now that it’s been about six weeks, I’ve finally reached that long awaited moment: my belly button piercing is almost entirely healed. Although I would love to claim all of the credit for a fast-healing and relatively painless process up until this point, unfortunately I can’t do that, as this was a collaborative effort between myself, my piercer, and my pocketbook. But I digress; this series is a comprehensive explanation of what it’s really like to have and heal a belly piercing, so let’s get down to business because there are […]

The Creep Connection: Modified Evildoers in Modern Cinema A history of piercings and tattoo art amongst convicts has lent modification a certain (unwarranted) evil stigma, so it’s no surprise that when it comes to modern storytelling, many of the “bad guys” are depicted with amazing mods. In honor of Halloween, we revisit the memory of movie-land evildoers whose actions were wrong, but whose body art is oh so right. One of the creepiest cinematic connections to body mod involves our good old B-ranked horror flick friend, the unstoppable serial killer. Amidst the more corny and bumbling slashers however, the modified […]

The Culture of Mod: Bare Belly Beginnings Belly piercings are arguably the most popular piercings in the western world, except of course for piercings of the ears. Those who choose to adorn their navels range widely in age, personality, and body type. From twelve, to twenty-two, to fifty, there are numerous reasons that a person might want to wear a belly mod, and literally dozens of interesting styles of jewelry. So how did Americans become so obsessed with decking out their midsections? It all started with what you’d call “a perfect pop culture storm.” In the early 1990s, belly piercings […]