Very ditto, and of course it depends on the tat. Some are just cheap and cheesy.

tramp stamps? to me they're turn offs.

I agree to the original comment that it more depends on the girl as well as the quality of the tattoo, a horribly done tattoo can ruin a pretty girl, and vice versa.

but isn't good or bad , in the eye of the beholder?

my ink makes me feel sexy...wearing lowrise pants or skirts or boy cut briefs. i always wanna flaunt its wearing my beliefs and persona on my skin like a badge and to me its sexy
-sarah lee sinful

no offense, but having six tattoos doesnt make you any more of an authority than anyone else here. i have 13 and i dont claim that my opinions have any more credibility than someone who has only one. why? because tattoos are a personal thing. they are whatever their wearer wants them to be. If someone decides they want a tattoo because they think its sexy or think it makes them look sexy, then good on them. That's their choice and their motivation. Having six tattoos doesnt mean you can tell others what their tattoos are to them or anyone else.

Some of my ink makes ME feel sexy...projecting confidence or pleasure with one's self is often perceived as 'sexy' by others...do the math.
Gia

tatts on guys can be really sexy! not into the face and neck tatts though just too much

for me.

Gotta agree with Kay on this one.

Irrespective of what each individual thinks is sexy, when someone walks into a tattoo shop, their desire is almost always to walk out at LEAST as attractive as they walked in, and hopefully be MORE attractive than when they walked in, if they consider tattoos to be a "positive" change. If the tattoo is drawn to FIT the body part, and tattooed properly, with a good understanding of line-weight, contrast, light-source, and color theory, just about any tattoo can be composed to be attractive as hell. Full sleeves? Hot as hell if they're done right. Tiny tattoo on the bikini line? Cute..... if it's done RIGHT! And don't EVEN think a tiny rose on the breast looks hot- it looks like a third nipple from across the room when you're nekkid!

Sadly, in my 24 years of tattooing and observing this the entire time, over 80% of people who call themselves "professional" tattooers never once consider this fact (you wanting to leave at least as attractive as you walked in) when they tattoo someone, putting "I'm cool as all that" or "getting paid" or being a "tattoo artist" ......unwilling to accept criticism of their work...... ABOVE the desires of the client to leave at least as attractive as they walked in. Yeah, about one in five is good enough that I'd send someone who walks into the shop to them if they need something like a small flower "today". The rest are bad enough that I'd never send an unsuspecting stranger to them.

Can't begin to tell you how many times I've heard "Well, it's not THAT bad" as an excuse for shitty work, or how many times people with shitty work on them think their tattoo is the coolest thing under the sun........ till they take a look at the portfolios in our shop (or any other shop with GOOD tattooers in it). I'll hear "What do you mean- 'do you want me to fix that?'???? It's AWESOME! Did you look at this shit? Look at how much tiny detail is in there" until I take the time to show them what GOOD linework looks like, what GOOD black & grey or color work looks like, and what good composition in an UNcluttered tattoo looks like. Because most people have only seen marginal work (because MOST tattooers are DOING marginal work), they think that what they've got is "cool as fuck", because they don't know any better.

Bottom line? Shitty tattoos, poorly drawn tattoos, poorly composed tattoos, and badly tattooed work WILL leave the client walking out the door LESS attractive than when they walked in, no matter what you think about what's sexy or not.

And before anyone gets bent out of shape that I'm being some kind of tattoo snob, and goes telling me I'm being too hard on "average" tattooers, think about what I'm saying- too many tattooers continue to do shitty work (shitty art and shitty tattooing) because they think they're hot shit and no one's taken the time to tell them they need to get an art or tattoo mechanics education (I don't care whether it's in school or self-taught, just LEARN something about art fundamentals and tattooing fundamentals before changing how people look nekkid, dammit, and continue to learn the entire time you're tattooing! Your customers DESERVE it).

$100 "starter kits" from china do NOT make someone a "tattoo artist". It makes them irresponsible as hell and too stupid to realize they shouldn't be tattooing their friends! When someone comes into the shop and asks about an apprenticeship, we say "let us see your sketchbooks", to which we USUALLY hear "Huh?" or "Uh........ I have a few things on Denny's napkins I drew that friends had tattooed on them". Leaving us thinking WHY THE HELL DO YOU WANT TO BE A TATTOOER?????? What do you think we DO all day? We DRAW, and usually stuff that someone ELSE wants drawn, not what WE feel like drawing all day. You've gotta LOVE to draw, all day, full-time, or you're not gonna be a happy, competent tattooer. Period. It just takes that kind of commitment to make every tattoo look the best it can look.

But that's all for another thread.

Yeah, tattoos CAN be sexy, but they can look like shit, too.

So