white flag with blue stripes and red stars

LouisĬhicago’s neighbor to the southwest has the nation’s fifth-best flag, according to the survey. In contrast, the Chicago flag would appear to need the whole image to convey the stripes and stars that make it up.” St. Considering the Phoenix flag is simply a very iconic image on a maroon field, people rarely get the entire flag and decide to just stick with the Phoenix bird. However, being in Arizona for three years, I have only done a handful of ‘Phoenix Pride’ designs.” But Jason Anthony of Golden Rule Tattoo said, “We’ll have people get the Phoenix that’s on the flag all the time. Apryl Triana of 27 Tattoo replied: “I actually moved here from Chicago! While in Chicago for five years, I can’t even count the number of Chicago flag or themed tattoos I did. It’s hard to tell from searching online whether the Phoenix flag has much mojo in the community, so I emailed some Phoenix tattoo artists. One flag-loving blogger pointed out that it resembles Japan’s prefectural flags-or how about the Japan Air Lines logo?

The city’s namesake mythical bird is in the center of the flag’s maroon field, shown in white silhouette with its wings upraised, almost forming a circle. The Arizona capital’s elegant city flag was ranked fourth-best.

cities finished in the vexillologists’ top 10: Chicago and Phoenix. In June, WAMU radio reported that some Washington residents are getting flag tattoos as a way of showing their solidarity in the fight for D.C. Like the Chicago flag, it has become a popular tattoo, according to DCist. Patterned after George Washington’s coat of arms, it features three red stars above two red bars, all against a white field. In particular, it’s simple, it has just two colors, and there’s no lettering on it. 1 in the North American Vexillological Association’s survey, fulfilling the group’s 5 Basic Principles of Flag Design. The city flag for the nation’s capitol ranked No. Here’s a look at 10 rival city flags from around the country-along with their vexillogical merits and local cultural significance. But that was only good enough to land Chicago in the No. When the North American Vexillological Association (vexillology is the study of flags) conducted a survey in 2004 ranking the nation’s best city flags, Chicago’s flag received a stellar 9.03 out of 10 possible points. Even the good flags aren’t necessarily well-known by the people of their cities. Turns out, many are bland, and a few are downright appalling. It's enough to make you wonder: Is this a unique local thing? How do other cities’ flags stack up against Chicago’s? Renn wrote: “In the United States, I’d have to rate Chicago far and away #1 in the use of official civic symbols (maybe the best in the world for all I know), and also note the overall high level of design quality of these objects … If you come to Chicago, you’ll notice that the city flag is ubiquitous.” Symbolism aside, the flag's simple, bold design is the reason it caught on. The four six-pointed red stars represent major historical events: Fort Dearborn, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, and the Century of Progress Exposition of 1933–34. The bottom blue stripe represents the South Branch of the river and the canal. The top blue stripe represents Lake Michigan and the North Branch of the Chicago River. Here’s what, exactly, Michael has inked onto his body: The three white stripes represent the North, West, and South sides. Michael, a kickball player featured on the Chicago Flag Tattoos website, explains why he felt compelled to have the flag permanently emblazoned on his arm: “After moving to Chicago and living here for a few years, Chicago really kind of took a place in my heart, so I thought it’d be a good thing to do.” Sometimes, the standard is distorted into new shapes-shamrocks, hearts, pizza slices-or its stars are replaced with sports logos.Īs reporter Elliott Ramos suggested in a 2011 post for WBEZ, Chicago’s love affair with its flag seems to have taken off in the 1990s, with an influx of young adults into the city. The flag is on T-shirts, hats, messenger bags, guitars, golf balls, coffee mugs, pillows, shower curtains and bars of soap. There’s a website devoted to pictures of Chicago Flag Tattoos. The Chicago city flag’s sky-blue bars and red stars are everywhere in this city.

White flag with blue stripes and red stars