Stephen's Tailored Tribute to His Father

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDoiYljbOtTpFVeZXHsqc07Qr-Uje_k9KwfQVq5uoa_R6PfEuPVsN4RevIsBABfbqrvFZfmoO7yzhTn48edvoCxXWYj07B8krqPpJUwDEuEnMRcCoLzOnGiqtoTRjTvj-ajIKPJ-F5Ts-/s1600-h/PICT1570.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307829300472670194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDoiYljbOtTpFVeZXHsqc07Qr-Uje_k9KwfQVq5uoa_R6PfEuPVsN4RevIsBABfbqrvFZfmoO7yzhTn48edvoCxXWYj07B8krqPpJUwDEuEnMRcCoLzOnGiqtoTRjTvj-ajIKPJ-F5Ts-/s400/PICT1570.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />I met Stephen while walking through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herald_Square">Herald Square</a> on an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon.<br /><br />He had his sleeves rolled up and I noticed the set of circles on the outside of his right forearm. He was more than happy to share the story behind them.<br /><br />Stephen was raised in New Jersey and he remembers his father commuting daily into Manhattan, where he was a Vice President at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT&T">AT & T</a>. His father was extremely dapper, and always wore a "crisp" suit to work, dressing impeccably for the job.<br /><br />He vividly recalls his father taking him for his first suit, and how his father imparted all of his knowledge onto Stephen; how the suit was the uniform of a true gentleman, and all about the cut, the style, the fabric, etc.<br /><br />When Stephen decided to get his first tattoo, he wanted to pay tribute to his father and wanted something above and beyond a normal tribute tattoo.<br /><br />With a tip of the hat to nostalgia, and the acknowledgment that his father's influence guided him toward a career in the fashion industry, Stephen had the circles tattooed on both outer forearms:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfMl0mDdoX7gfWSLFl-m1dIMlq_ojwJaB_eQJFbZ96Fy_xEz-SVfy1oGqaIFPg_afAq2ijIntCC6lS7bI7lT2v-RTHBtOkMcWr6UHp9Nh5ubOJFn3SiR2qwONSr7rWmbaMdwfUPs6lrER/s1600-h/STEPHENSLEEVES.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307828995378951106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfMl0mDdoX7gfWSLFl-m1dIMlq_ojwJaB_eQJFbZ96Fy_xEz-SVfy1oGqaIFPg_afAq2ijIntCC6lS7bI7lT2v-RTHBtOkMcWr6UHp9Nh5ubOJFn3SiR2qwONSr7rWmbaMdwfUPs6lrER/s400/STEPHENSLEEVES.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" /></a><br />Seen together, and knowing his background, it is all the more apparent that Stephen has tattoos representing two sets of buttons on the suit sleeves of childhood memories.<br /><br />When I asked him what his father thought when he saw this tribute, he replied, "He wasn't super pumped about it, but it grew on him. The first thing he said after I explained it to him was, <span style="font-style: italic;">'Couldn't you've just gotten DAD tattooed...?' ."</span><br /><br />Stephen now has 10 tattoos, most of which were inked at <a href="http://electriclotustattoo.com/">Electric Lotus Tattoo and Piercing</a> in <a href="http://www.boonton.org/">Boonton, New Jersey</a>. His friend <a href="www.myspace.com/foxtrotwonder">Don Perdue</a> was the artist responsible for these honorary buttons.<br /><br />Thanks to Stephen for sharing these cool tattoos honoring his father!

Stephen's Tailored Tribute to His Father

I met Stephen while walking through Herald Square on an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon. He had his sleeves rolled up and I noticed the ...

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