One of the biggest tattoo trends to come out of the nineties had less to do with actual design and everything to do with placement. Arm bands were almost always wrapped around the upper arm, and Chinese characters were commonly seen on the back of shoulders or the back of necks. However, one placement stands out above the rest when discussing tattoo trends from the 90s. The tramp-stamp. Lower back tattoos exploded into popularity during the late 90s and the trend spilled over into the early 2000s. This placement was seen as the perfect location for “party girls” who had an image to maintain during the week. Since the placement was so easily hidden from employers, and parents, it was dubbed the tramp-stamp. It was a way for “good girls” to show just how bad they really were. When thinking about this concept now, it seems ridiculous, but many women (and even some men) embraced this idea of having a wild side and embraced the term and placement. Designs seen on the lower back were typically feminine imagery, such as butterflies, dolphins, and stars, accompanied with a more delicate take on tribal line work. The designs would have a central focus located in the middle of the lower back and would have line work and other elements, like flowers, branching out from either side reaching towards the hips. This idea of easily hidden tattoos also cause a rise in people getting tattoo on the hip bones and around the belly button. While these locations are still commonly tattooed today, they are more often than not worked into another larger piece. Gone are the times of stars on the hip bones and tribal suns surrounding the belly button. Tramp-stamps are now seen as more of a bad decision left over from someone’s early twenties. Much like the previously mentioned arm bands, a large number of lower back tattoos have since been covered up and incorporated into larger back pieces.
The nineties produced a number of other tattoo trends, many of which can still be seen in the form of temporary henna tattoos on boardwalks and at county fairs. A dolphin on an ankle, a zodiac sign, tribal suns and yin-yangs are still popular choices for temporary tattoos. The nineties were also a prominent time for pop culture tattoos. Tweety Bird tattoos and Looney Tunes were among the most popular requests. Thankfully, most of these tattoo trends faded out by the early 2000s. However, this time in our history brought its own trends to the table, and some continue into today.
As Bugs Bunny and others fell out of popularity, Disney themed tattoos became increasingly popular. The Nightmare Before Christmas was a very popular film to draw inspiration from. Jack Skellington and Sally were typically depicted holding each other in a loving embrace surrounded by a Tim Burton-esque heart. The iconic scene of Jack and Sally atop a hill in front of the large Halloween moon was another common image. Disney princesses also became very popular. Many women would feel as though they strongly identified with one of the princesses and would show this by getting a tattoo of the princess. Other pop culture cartoons were seen in tattoos, but none were as popular as Disney.
