Man’s ruin tattoo design based on artwork by Greg James.

Man’s Ruin is a classic and very popular tattoo design with a great deal of tradition behind it. It typically includes four main elements: a scantily clad or nude woman, who is reclining in a stemmed glass (champagne in this case, martini in others), with some type of alcohol nearby, and some symbol related to gambling (dice, cards, money or all three). These, then, are the paths that can, individually and together, lead to a man’s ruin. Ah, but what a way to go.