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6.14.2009

The original bad-ass. Sailor Jerry.


White tee shirt. Grey pompadour. Tattooed all over. That was ball-busting Sailor Jerry.

Gelled blowout hair cuts. True Religion Jeans. And pointy shoes. NOT Sailor Jerry.

 

Thanks to the unimaginative work of Christian Audigier, today’s youth (and mid-life crisis stricken gentlemen) are brainwashed, and paying respects (and lots of money) to the wrong person!! 

Sailor Jerry established a reputation for himself by tattooing some of the toughest, roughest and rowdiest sailors who came into port in Honolulu in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and after.  Often branding sailor’s forearms with pin-up girls, his knack for being able to symbolize a time of drunken excursions with busty females that only lasted for one night, quickly made him “the” tattoo artist to see.

And now, seemingly taken straight from Sailor Jerry’s flash sheets, Audigier has taken credit, and lost all meaning, to the work the Sailor has done.

 

So, the next time someone see’s your traditional Sailor Jerry inspired ink and says “oooh, nice Ed Hardy tattoo” – PUNCH THEM.


5 comments:

Unknown said...

Damn straight! I completely agree :]

Stephanie said...

I'm glad someone else feels the same way! Since when are rhinestone encrusted tattoo designs cool? haha Christian Audigier is the king of all douche bags

Anonymous said...

i think ed hardy was sailor jerry's student, and i'm pretty sure he owns sailor jerry line of work and clothing as well.

The Rebellionheirs said...

Here's a bit of Sailor Jerry and Ed Hardy education for the confused folks out there:

In the tattoo world, Sailor Jerry was well-known for his frequent campaigns against middling practitioners, whom he called "scab artists". Conversely, he went out of his way to mentor those tattoo artists whose talents and attitude he respected, among them tattoo legends Don Ed Hardy, Cliff Raven, Don Nolan, and Mike Malone, to whom he entrusted his legacy of flash designs.

In 2004, Christian Audigier licensed the rights to produce the high-end Ed Hardy clothing line, which is based on Hardy's imagery. Prior to the Ed Hardy clothing line, Audigier was the Head Designer at Von Dutch Originals, which marketed the imagery of Kenny Howard. Audigier has attempted to replicate the marketing techniques employed by Von Dutch Originals, by marketing directly to celebrity clients and by opening stores in high profile fashion districts.

As far as we're concerned, Christian Audigier is still the king of scabs.

Anonymous said...

hahaha, i agree. even ed hardy's stuff would be alright if it wasnt so gaudy. it's got the sailor jerry feel just... watered down with rhinestones, hahaha. among other lame touches. i enjoy sailor jerry's stuff, i wonder what he'd think of ed hardy's stuff if he were still around... at least ed decided to keep 'sailor jerry' brand close to its roots.