Absolutely Fabulous Tattoos of Eddie and Patsy
Grab a Bolli-Stoli and a pack of Rothmans: 25 years on, Eddie and Pats are still as fabulous as ever, especially as tattoos.
What We’re Watching is our series where we celebrate our favorite movies and TV shows with tattoos of their characters. Make sure to check out our previous episodes, featuring unforgettable faces from Barbarella, Big Trouble in Little China, The X-Files, Twin Peaks, and more.
For the uninitiated, Absolutely Fabulous is an accurately titled British comedy created by and starring the legendary Jennifer Saunders. The show follows Edina “Eddie” Monsoon, a former ‘60s flower child, who is a barely successful PR agent in the London fashion world. Desperately clinging to her youth and that moment’s definition of “hip,” Eddie is a bit of a mess as she careens through life, snatching at the latest trend — be it fashion, music, film, religion, or food — in her perpetual quest for self-actualization (Namaste, darling!).
Along the way, she’s faithfully accompanied by her “dearest and oldest friend,” Patsy Stone, played by the always luminous Joanna Lumley. Compared to Eddie’s appropriation of any and every fashion trend, Patsy is always sharply dressed, her blonde bouffant as expertly manicured as her cheeks and nails. Even so, it is usually Patsy demanding Bolli-Stolis (their signature cocktail made with Bollinger champagne and Stolichnaya vodka), chain smoking, and procuring various powdered substances for the two to enjoy. Cheers.
If this sounds like a show that isn’t really about anything, you’re not wrong. For all the talk of Eddie being “top PR,” we rarely see her do any actual work, and when we do, she’s usually terrible at it. Patsy, who has only eaten twice since 1973, is sporadically employed at different fashion magazines, but for the most part, these two absurd and endearing lushes bumble along, secure in their fabulousness in a way that is admirable at best and utterly delusional at worst. Their delusions of grandeur, however, have landed them sweet gigs as glamorous tattoos on a few fans out there.
To see more body art inspired by TV shows, strut like Patsy over to these tattooists’ Instagrams. If you’re an Ab Fab fanatic, get a portrait of the lovable shitshow of a duo tattooed on your body, too, and swig down a few Bolli-Stolis afterward. Also, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie is currently streaming on HBO GO. Watch it. It’s hilarious.
