Tae Kwo Do avenue in Athens, Greece filled by needles, colors, designs, and many famous people for the 8th International Tattoo Convention which was held there. The international trends and the incredible artistic skills in creating work arts on the human body were presented – and from what we saw Greeks love tattoos.

Just two decades ago, only prisoners and sailors had tattoos on their body, but now the art of tattoo is very fashionable. Even the Quai De Branly museum in Paris hosts an exhibition on the art of tattoos. During the first half of the 20th century, tattoos were popular only with marginalized groups and was am underground movement until media and social media networks made it a popular art.

Today, advertising and fashion use its special codes and creates a tattoo trend. The truth is that tattoo art is an ancient custom since many ancient tribes used to mark their bodies with beautiful designs either for decoration purposes or prestige.

Nowadays in western societies, tattoos are considered to be jewellers which grace the body and are socially acceptable by everyone. Of course the international and domestic celebrities are the ones who made tattoos socially acceptable. From Greek singer Anna Vissi and Greek model and TV presenter Jenny Balatsinou to Angelina Jolie (one of the first who showed off their tattoos) and David Beckham.

Most people choose to have a tattoo on their hands and feet, by lately many women prefer tattoos on the ribs or at the bottom of the spine.

From the birds that the painter Lucien Freud drew at the base of Kate Moss, which cost about 500.00 and is considered an art work to the cartoon tiger that Miley Cyrus chose to have on the inside of her lower lip.

One thing is for sure… the diversity in designs is a must, you can even see the wildest designs, but as British Elle magazine mentioned in a recent feature article on tattoos “those who did tribal tattoos… are a bit old-fashioned now,”.

See photos of stars and their tattoos as well as ideas for tattoos from around the world. (Some photos are from the famous tattoo parlour Bang Bang of New York).