A black-and-white photo of a person mid-air in a Superman-style body suspension pose, supported by multiple hooks in their back and legs, smiling joyfully toward the camera. They are suspended horizontally in a large indoor space with high ceilings and visible rigging. A group of onlookers—some seated, some standing—watch with expressions of admiration, amusement, and support. The atmosphere is lively and communal, capturing a moment of shared experience and transformation.

Co-ordinating Colours

Do these shoes go with this purse?  Does this shirt match these jeans?  We’ve all been privy to some form of this exchange at some point in our lives.  We may have asked a question similar, or been asked it, and if neither of those, we’ve probably overheard someone ask some variation of these questions.  The fact is, the vast majority of people tend to consciously control their external appearance to a degree that they deem is aesthetically pleasing to themselves (or at least to the people they intend to appear in front of).

Sure we can laugh at people who go ridiculous lengths to “look their best”, I’m sure most people who watch Jersey Shore snicker when The Situation talks about his GTL routine, and his before-club rituals.  Yet when you think about it, going to excessive lengths to control your outward appearance is exactly what we do all the time.  Piercings, tattoos, scars, etc, are all just our versions of the Jersey Shore appearance regimes.

Take a look at these knuckle tattoos uploaded recently by OhRubie..

knuckles

On their own they look great, I’m personally a big fan that the apostrophe was included, but seeing that she’s painted her nails to match the colouring in the lettering really makes the entire piece stand out.

So have you ever done anything similar?  Co-ordinate something you’re wearing with your mods?  Maybe not with make-up, but with clothing or accessories, like changing your plug colours to match your outfit, or buying a specific colour pair of shoes to match the tattoos on your legs.

Comments

15 responses to “Co-ordinating Colours”

  1. Mira Avatar
    Mira

    When I was younger, I was afraid of coloured tattoos because I thought that the more colours I had, the harder it would be to wear clothes to match. I learned that I was quite mistaken, and the more colours you have tattooed on you, the easier it is to pick out something that matches.

    That being said, I still always my ear jewelry when I dye my hair. They simply HAVE to match.

  2. Devika Avatar
    Devika

    I always change my septum jewellery depending on what i wear
    or it just looks weird! x

  3. nadineynuisance Avatar

    i’m forever discarding outfits cos they don’t ‘go’ with my half sleeve, and i always change my tunnels, septum, lip jewelery and nose screws to go with outfits. i’m guessing its more of a girl thing to go, i’d be interested to know how many guys do this too!

  4. Brianna Avatar

    Cant say Ive ever tried matching my clothing to my tattoos.
    But I guess its easier since most of my clothes are black.

  5. Crazy Face Avatar

    I cant say I’ve done it really but being a guy I guess its not one of our ‘things’ like women have..

    I must say I love the use of the blue in the tattoo above though 🙂

  6. J.R. Avatar

    I’m a guy and I have actually coordinated my plugs with outfits at some point. Nothing too major but I have a set of gold, silver, and black, to go with whatever I happen to be wearing. I even have a set of green plugs for things like St. Patrick’s day and such.

  7. Dagon Avatar

    I have a shirt that sort of matches the blue on the sleeve that I like to wear. =D I change plugs with my outfits if I have something that works together.
    I don’t usually change my septum jewellery though.

  8. Neil Avatar
    Neil

    YEEEHAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

  9. andrea Avatar
    andrea

    i totally have nail polish that compliments my foot tattoos…

  10. Jesus Avatar
    Jesus

    just get black and you’re always good

  11. Caleigh Avatar

    is that a city and colour tattoo?

  12. DarlaMayDisaster Avatar
    DarlaMayDisaster

    On occassion I have been known to have my clothing/nails match. I have lots of full color tattoos and I also have bright red and yellow hair so getting something to “match” is always a bit difficult. I do, however, have to agree with Jesus…. if you get black/white/grey/or jeans you will always be fine….. browns seem to work well too LoL. I DO LOVE the color blue she has in her tattoo and her nails are absolutely adorable matching her knuckles.

  13. Liney Avatar
    Liney

    I always match my plugs with my nail polish. This week my nails are pink and glittery so my plugs are also pink and glittery.

    Was also thinking if it’s a City and Colour tattoo. Either way, it’s a great song and tattoo.

  14. childbestrange Avatar

    Haha, this is a little bit of a departure from your question, but do forgive me.
    I carefully match my mods with not only the colors in my wardrobe (easy, I wear almost all black), but to the color scheme and stylistic influences of my performance persona. As a fire eater and belly dancer my body is very much part of my ‘costume’ or look, since both types of performance require styles of dress that bare a lot of skin. This means dark reds, indigo, and dark green accents (colors I use in my costumes and jewelry) in very heavy-weight blackwork that looks good on stage and in the specific lighting condition created by my fire props. I have a theory that this is why you see so many large blackwork/Tribal-influenced pieces in the fire scene. My tattoo projects have lots of flowing lines in a nod to Art Nouveau design and the west coast Tribal belly dance scene’s aesthetic, and the tattoos themselves are very traditional American choices: compass rose, star, dagger, roses and thorns, so on.
    My modifications are a way for me to participate in these emerging performance art forms, and ‘show my colors’ when I’m not all kitted up in my dancing clothes (or actually on fire! can’t be happy all the time, damnit). In the case of my lobe tunnels (recently scalpelled to 5/8″ by Blake at Nomad and healing just beautifully) the mods were done specifically to make traditional belly dance ear weights and those crazy-huge African silverwork hoops easier to wear while performing. I suppose this is a lot of thought to put into my mods and personal style, but if there’s anywhere the ‘body as canvas’ mentality is understood it’s here!
    Great photo, and I love the double-knuckle tattoo concept, don’t think I’ve seen that before! Please keep em coming Rob!

  15. catharsis Avatar

    All of my plugs are carefully selected to suit my coloring, and I try to match them to elements of my outfits too, whether it’s matching blue goldstone to midnight blue undies or ocean jasper to the green on my Zoroaster band tee. It makes me feel cute and girly 🙂

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