InstagramWomen with ink are becoming increasingly creative with their tattoo placement.
The latest tattoo trend – which has actually been around for centuries – is the inked underboob, more commonly known in the industry as a sternum tattoo.
The designs – which can be as intricate or simple as your imagination will allow – are basically the kickass female answer to the chest piece.
Although many tattoo devotees have been getting ink in this area of the body for years, tattoo artists have seen an increase in customers requesting them since celebs like Rihanna have decorated their underboobs.
…Because apparently not even the centuries-old tattoo tradition is free from the cold grip of celebrity culture now.
GIPHYAll the same, the underboob tattoo is one of the most painful you can request, so let’s hope the placement is more than a passing fad for these ladies.
Sternum tattoos can vary in size, but generally are placed in the delicate area between the breasts. For the brave-hearted, they can extend over the ribs too.
The tattoo designs tend to lean towards the exotic – I’m yet to see an England flag or a footie emblem tattooed between a woman’s breasts.
Most popular are tattoos from the Egyptian and Asian traditions of body art, from depictions of the goddess Isis to lotus flowers.
Some women opt for geometric or ornate chandelier style ink, which fits the curves of the body beautifully.
The pain is certainly worth it – these ladies’ tattoos are aesthetically beautiful.
Fingers crossed the tattoo parlour turned the heating up for them.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.