
And on each shoulder, he wears a cursive “ g” and “ A,” the “ g” standing for his sister Gemma and the A for his mom, Anne. The dates are the birth years of both Styles’ parents. Over each collarbone, Styles wears a date: 1957 on his right and 1967 on his right. Next to the right swallow is a cross over the letter “ B,” which could stand for one or both of his grandfathers. Just below the same swallow is a faded broken heart and two crosses, one over the letter “M” and one over the letter “K”-the former reportedly representing his maternal Grandmother, Mary Smith, the latter, his paternal Grandfather, Keith Fredrick Styles. Just above the left swallow are the words “ 17 BLACK,” which tattoo artist Kevin Paul told GQ UK signified a losing gambling hand for Styles. “They symbolize traveling, and we travel a lot!” The swallows are sometimes tattooed one at a time for the departure and return of a voyage. “I like that kind of style of tattoos, like the old sailor kind of tattoos,” Styles told Us Weekly. Two swallows face one another on Styles' pecs. The butterfly reportedly symbolizes an early transformation for Styles, though the exact meaning hasn’t been discussed. On his sternum, Styles has a large butterfly, which he got in 2013. Let’s start with the big, obvious ones on Styles' chest. Since then, Styles has averaged around seven new tattoos a year. The musician got his first tattoo on his eighteenth birthday in 2012, choosing to ink the outline of a star on his left bicep. (No one was happier by this result than Niall Horan, 1D tattoo holdout.) Styles chose his left arm. His punishment: tattooing, in front of the audience, “Late Late” somewhere on his body in reference to Corden’s show. That 2015 interview also proved the site of another possibly stupid tattoo, when Corden challenged the band to a “tattoo roulette.” Styles lost. How stupid? “I mean, I wrote ‘big’ on my big toe,” Styles said, laughing. I don’t know if I regret them so much,” he admitted. In an interview with James Corden during his One Direction days, Styles said he even gave himself at least one tattoo. Styles’ tattoos are often disparate-individual pieces representing family members, music references, and personal experiences, as well as just aesthetic interests and terrible on-camera choices. And after several hours of fierce gossip blog and Instagram research, we can confirm a number as low as 67-with at least four tattoo cover ups. According to Page Six, Harry Styles has over 50 tattoos.
