With tattoo trends changing almost as often as the trends on social media, there still are some tattoo styles that defy time, gaining immunity to any and all passing-by trends. Want to guess which tattoos we are talking about? Yup, you’re absolutely right; it’s American traditional tattoos! To honor this never-dying trend, we’ve rounded up some of the most beautiful specimens done in recent days, and although these old-school tattoos did change during the period of their natural evolution, the core still stayed the same.
Traditional American tattoos, also known as old-school tattoos, are a distinctive style of tattooing that originated in the United States in the late 19th century, gaining their full-on popularity in the early to mid-20th century and keeping it to this day, too. These tattoos are characterized by their bold and icon-like designs, vibrant, often primary colors, and thick black outlines.
Now, these designs did not come out of nowhere and were heavily influenced by the maritime and military culture of the United States. Basically, it was the thing of all G.I. Joes and Marines. Of course, most of these iconic tattoos were done by someone who couldn’t be called a full-fledged tattoo artist but rather someone with the apparatus and some basic ink. However, at the very same time, tattoo culture started forming, and in that time, two very prominent artists became well-known and helped tremendously in shaping the American tattoo style - Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins and Bert Grimm.
And yeah, although these old-school tattoo designs might not look exactly like their predecessors nowadays, this style is still very important in shaping tattoo culture. So much so that it has spawned several new tattoo styles, like neo-traditional and new school, which use the same iconic designs and bold outlines, but add more depth and shadowing to the designs. Overall, traditional tattoos played a huge role in shaping tattoo history, and the style is still as popular as it used to be. And if you were looking for something bold and timeless, this list might be just it!
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American Traditional Half-Sleeve Tattoo
"My American traditional half-sleeve! Done by Chris Fernandez at Kings Ave Tattoo in Manhattan, NY."
American Traditional Sparrow Shoulder Tattoo
"Tim wanted a mirrored image of a sparrow he had on his other shoulder."
American Traditional Leg Sleeve Tattoo
"New banger for the American traditional leg sleeve from Matthew Luettger at Red Quill Tattoo in Lincoln, NE."
American Traditional Gilmore Girls Inspired Tattoo
"American traditional Gilmore Girls tattoo long street collective, Columbus, Ohio, Gregory Lahm."
American Traditional Peacock Leg Tattoo
"American traditional peacock. Done by Tyler Caron at Electric Umbrella. Nanaimo, BC."
American Traditional Surrealistic Horse Shoulder Tattoo
"One of my favourite J$ designs for Isla, thank you for the trust!"
American Traditional Eagle & Rose Belly Tattoo
"American traditional eagle & rose by Dré Perales at Mothers Tattoo in Elsmere, KY."
American Traditional Woman Face Thigh Tattoo
"American traditional by Bobby (Red Dagger Tattoo Houston, TX) done in Georgetown."
American Traditional Heart Shoulder Tattoo
"American traditional mom tattoo done by Johnny Baker at the Ink Elephant in Mcallen, TX."
American Traditional Sun, Cloud And Lighting Tattoo
American Traditional Toucan Arm Tattoo
"First tattoo - American traditional toucan by Jon Glessner at Key City Tattoo - Frederick, MD."
American Traditional Lighthouse Tattoo
"So stoked with how this turned out! Bright, bold and classic is what I love to do!"
American Traditional Tiger Tattoo
"Tiger on the shin, thanks Tiffany for letting me add to your cool collection."
American Traditional Master Sword Arm Tattoo
"American traditional master sword by Zack Hendlmyer at Tattoo Timmy's, Turnersville, NJ."
American Traditional Grim Reaper Tattoo
"American traditional grim reaper by Travis at Inksmith & Rogers Jacksonville, FL."
American Traditional Turtle And Flowers Arm Tattoo
"American traditional turtle done by Josh at True West Tattoo, San Luis Obispo, CA."
American Traditional Panther Tattoo
"My American traditional panther done by Kitt Kaufman at High Noon Tattoo in Phx, AZ."
American Traditional Eagle Ribs Tattoo
"American traditional eagle done by Jeffrey at Howdy Tattoo in St. Louis, MO."
American Traditional Cobra Arm Tattoo
"American traditional cobra by Justin Martinez, Element Tattoo in San Antonio."
American Traditional Cobra Arm Tattoo
"One of the tats I made for the cancer benefit. Shop was packed all day long. We made a lot of tats, and raised a lot of money."
American Traditional Ship Arm Tattoo
"American traditional ship by Jeremiah Wayne at Think Tank Tattoo in Denver."
American Traditional Eagle Tattoo
"American-traditional eagle piece by Jason Phillips at Ftw Tattoo in Oakland."
American Traditional Ship Tattoo
"American traditional ship by Derek Sayeg at gGenuine Electric Tattoo in Van Nuys, CA."
American Traditional Dagger Tattoo
"American traditional dagger by Matt Stebly at Twisted Anchor Tattoo in Ocean Springs, MS."
American Traditional Rose Tattoo
"American traditional rose by Adam at Chapter One Tattoo in San Diego."
American Traditional Rose Tattoo
"American traditional rose by Andrew at Electric Souvenir (Chicago, IL)"
American Traditional "Don't Tread On Me" Adaptation Tattoo
"American traditional 'Don't Tread On Me' adaptation done by Mauricio Pastor at West Texas Tattoos."
American Traditional Skyrim Tattoo
"My merican traditional inspired Skyrim piece done by Lee at tooth and nail in Davenport, IA."
American Traditional Clipper Ship Leg Tattoo
"My American traditional clipper ship, my Matt Wetmore at Distinkt Designs, Horton MI."
American Traditional Boxer Arm Tattoo
"American traditional boxer. Done by Alex Duquette at Blue Blood Tattoo in Ottawa."
American Traditional Skull Arm Tattoo
"Hey guys, just wanted to know your opinion of my new tattoo… I currently serve as a combat medic and decided to get an American traditional style depiction."
American Traditional Armtattoos
"My two new American traditional style forearm pieces from Hugh Sheldon at Cloak And Dagger in London."
American Traditional Owl Arm Tattoo
"American traditional owl - by Steve at Cobra Custom Tattoo Plymouth, MA."
American Traditional Bird Tattoo
"I had the pleasure of tattooing this tattoo on my brother in honor of our grandparents."
American Traditional Gator Head Tattoo
"American traditional gator head by Daniel from Black Torch in Baton Rouge."
American Traditional Rose Tattoo On Hand
"American traditional rose by Emil Dz at order of the sacred crow in Woodbury, NJ."
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