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Posts tagged red

Sep 6

This week everyone’s talking about the reddish brocade Tracy Reese cocktail dress Michelle Obama wore when she spoke at the DNC and, in contrast, the cherry red Oscar de la Renta shirtdress Ann Romney wore when she spoke at the RNC last week. Full disclosure: I liked Ann’s look better. But I remain far more captivated by what Bill Clinton wore when he took the podium last night at the DNC. His performance was magnificent, perhaps because he was given the adoring the audience he craves without any of the attendant responsibilities. He wore a two-button navy blue suit (Donna Karan?), which, as handlers know, photographs better than black. It fit his tall frame gracefully, far better than the suit he wore two years ago at Chelsea’s wedding, which looked as if it had been sized for the pre-heart-attack, Big-Mac-guzzling Bill.

But it was his silk necktie, a striped, muted red with blue undertones, that clinched the look. Just as Bill explained, midway through his speech, that Obama values partnership over partisanship, the red-mixed-with-blue of his tie, which was both not-true-blue and not-true-red, went far to suggest ideological subtlety and sophistication. Compare it to the necktie Mitt Romney wore for his RNC speech, a schoolboy, stop-sign red one with narrow cobalt stripes. Mitt’s necktie wasn’t about anything but the color red. While there’s a huge divide between red and blue states, red is used across the board at mainstream political events to symbolize upstanding American politics. One has to admire both men for having enough sense to stick with the classics.

Oct 26

For a very long time, what inspired envy more than anything else were ladies I saw on the subway carrying authentic Hermes Birkin bags. Now, what inspires envy more than anything else are kids I see on the subway sporting Dr. Dre Beats “Studio” headphones. They’ve been designed by the rapper/producer to deliver recorded music in all its richness while reducing outside noise. And they’ve been designed to call attention to themselves. They’re huge — each earpad is fist-sized, and hides a pair of AAA batteries — and they’re awesome. They come in all different colors but my favorite are the red ones, which are an impossible-to-avoid shade right between fire engine and Ferrari. It’s a joyous, electric color.

Unlike a lot of fancy headphones, the “Studio” headphones are designed so that the headband, the earpads, and the connection between them all feel substantial. These are headphones for a serious audiophile, that can cost more than an MP3 player, and that would look right on a DJ or a recording studio technician. So it’s funny seeing them plugged into a tiny player or phone. I remember the first generation of Walkmen, when the devices were showy and the headphones were small. Since the release of the iPod and its little white earbuds, the listening device has became a discrete, precious object and the headphones have just about disappeared. The Beats headphones turn that around, drawing attention away from the music player to the act of listening, and to the listener himself. They turn headphones into fashion.